RIT
Human Resources

Statutory Benefits

Scope:

This policy applies to all RIT employees.

Policy Statement

Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

The Federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was signed into law in 1993, for the purpose of guaranteeing job protection to eligible employees who are absent from work due to specified family, family military and medical reasons defined in the law.

Eligibility

Eligible employees are:

Student employees, part-time employees and adjunct faculty are not typically eligible.

Benefits

FMLA provides up to 12 work weeks of unpaid leave during a 12 month period. If an employee qualifies for paid leave for the absence (such as sick leave, salary continuation, short-term disability or workers compensation), the paid leave and unpaid leave will run concurrently.

Exempt employees receive unlimited salary continuation days for absence for their own intermittent sick days. However, exempt employees approved under FMLA for reduced hours or consistent, on-going medical appointments would not be paid for this FMLA time unless they use vacation hours to cover the time not worked under FMLA.

If the FMLA-qualifying absence is for a reason that does not qualify for pay continuation, the employee may either use vacation or take the leave without pay. If the employee has a grandfathered sick time bank (June 30, 2005), he/she may use this time to care for an eligible family member who has a serious health condition when approved under the FMLA.

During FMLA leave, an employee's job is protected. This means that when you return from an absence covered by FMLA, you must be restored to your original job, or to an equivalent job with equivalent pay and benefits. In addition, your use of FMLA leave cannot result in the loss of any employment benefit that you earned or were entitled to before you used the time off. To qualify for FMLA job protection, you are required to report your absence to Prudential as soon as possible, but without exception, no later than two business days after learning of the need for leave. Refer to the Sick/Personal Time and Short-term disability summary for details on reporting absences.

For FMLA eligibility purposes, the 12-month period is a rolling 12 months, counted backward from the first day an employee takes FMLA leave.

Qualifying Absences

FMLA provides job-protected leave under the following situations:

Care of an employee's domestic partner with a serious health condition does not qualify for FMLA leave under the Federal law. However, RIT strives to treat domestic partners similarly to spouses whenever legally possible. Therefore, RIT will provide leave that is equivalent to FMLA leave for absences taken to care for an employee's domestic partner with a serious health condition. In order to use this benefit, the employee must have an Affidavit of Domestic Partnership on file with RIT Human Resources. Information about domestic partner benefits and the process for completing the affidavit can be found on the Human Resources website at http://finweb.rit.edu/humanresources/benefits/domestic/.

Care of another individual, such as a parent-in-law, grandparent, grandchild, etc., does not qualify for FMLA leave under the Federal law. This type of leave is granted at the discretion of the employee's supervisor, and is not eligible for FMLA job protection.

"Absence" includes full and partial days of absence. It also includes intermittent leave, in as little as 1-hour blocks, or a reduced leave schedule, under certain circumstances described in the law.

Employee Responsibilities

Employees must provide 30 days advance notice of the need to take FMLA leave when the need is foreseeable. When 30 days notice is not possible, the employee must provide notice within two business days of learning of the need for leave and generally must comply with RIT's normal call-in procedures.

Employees must provide sufficient information to determine 1) if the leave qualifies for FMLA protection and 2) the anticipated duration of the leave. Sufficient information may include that the employee is unable to perform job functions, the family member is unable to perform daily activities, the need for hospitalization or continuing treatment by a health care provider, or circumstances supporting the need for military family leave. Employees must also identify if the requested leave is for a reason for which FMLA leave was previously taken or certified. Employees may also be required to provide a certification and periodic recertification supporting the need for a leave.

Employer Responsibilities

Covered employers must inform employees who are requesting leave whether or not they are eligible under FMLA. If the employee is eligible, the notice must specify any additional information required as well as the employees' rights and responsibilities. If the employee is not eligible, the notice must provide a reason for ineligibility.

Covered employers must inform employees if leave will be designated as FMLA-protected and the amount of leave counted against the employee's leave entitlement. If the employer determines that the leave is not FMLA protected, the employer must notify the employee.

Unlawful Acts by Employers

FMLA makes it unlawful for any employer to:

Enforcement

An employee may file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor or may bring a private lawsuit against an employer. FMLA does not affect any Federal or State law prohibiting discrimination, or supersede any State or local law which provides greater family or medical leave rights.

Absence Reporting Process

Employees who will be absent are required to call (or have someone else call) their immediate supervisor or the department head within a minimum of one hour of their scheduled reporting time. You do not need to give details about your medical condition, just let him or her know that you are unable to work.

Prudential, RIT's insurance company for short-term and long-term disability benefits (as well as life insurance and accidental death & dismemberment insurance), provides disability management services to RIT and its employees. You should also contact Prudential by phone or through their website to report your absence. Prudential's toll-free phone number is 1-877-908-4778 and their website address is www.prudential.com/mybenefits. Contact Prudential for your absence in the following situations:

First, report your absence for leave or disability to your supervisor. Then report it to Prudential when:

If your absence is planned in advance, you may contact Prudential before your absence begins. This may be the case, for instance, if you are undergoing elective surgery, or for a maternity disability.

The sooner you call, the better. If you don't call Prudential, your pay may be delayed for days you qualify for Short-Term Disability benefits.

If you are unsure whether you should call Prudential to report your absence, go ahead and call. The Prudential representative will review your situation and determine what the next steps are.

Terms to Know

The following are definitions of commonly-used FMLA terms. Please note that many of these definitions are directly from the law.

Child - The employee's child (including adopted, foster, stepchild and child for whom the employee has been appointed legal guardian) who is under age 18, or age 18 or over if the child has a serious health condition and is incapable of self-care due to a mental or physical impairment that substantially limits one or more of his or her life activities.

Chronic condition - An ongoing medical condition which:

Disability - An illness or injury that is not work related, and results in absence from work which is certified by a physician. Pregnancy-related conditions resulting in absence are also considered disabilities by law.

Family member - The employee's spouse, domestic partner (for whom an Affidavit of Domestic Partnership is on file with RIT Human Resources), child (including adopted, foster, stepchild and child for whom the employee has been appointed legal guardian), and parent.

FMLA - The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, a Federal law.

Intermittent leave - FMLA leave taken in separate blocks of time due to a single qualifying reason.

Reduced leave schedule - A reduction in the employee's usual number of working hours per work week, or hours per work day, for a period of time, normally from full time to part time.

Serious health condition - An illness, impairment, physical or mental condition that involves:

  1. inpatient care in a hospital, hospice or residential medical care facility, or any subsequent treatment in connection with such inpatient care
  2. continuing treatment by a health care provider. This includes, but is not limited to:
    • A period of incapacity of more than three consecutive calendar days and any subsequent treatment or period of incapacity that also involves continuing treatment by a health care provider
    • A period of incapacity due to pregnancy or prenatal care
    • A period of incapacity or treatment for such incapacity due to a chronic serious health condition
    • A period of incapacity which is permanent or long-term due to a condition for which treatment may not be effective
    • A period of absence to receive multiple treatments, including any period of recovery, for restorative surgery after an accident or other injury or for a condition that would likely result in a period of incapacity of more than three consecutive calendar days in the absence of medical intervention or treatment

Work week - Your scheduled hours per week based on your schedule in Oracle.

Workers Compensation - Provides benefits for an illness or injury that occurs on the job.

Reporting Absences

Refer to the Sick Time and Short-term disability summary for details on reporting absences.

State Leave Laws

Along with the regulations that govern the federal Family and Medical Leave Act , New York State employers with 20 or more employees are required to comply with state leave laws.

New York State has the following state leave laws:

FICA Tax (Social Security and Medicare)

As required by law, RIT matches the employee's FICA tax contributions. There are two components of the FICA tax: 1) Social Security, and 2) Medicare. The employee and RIT contributions for Social Security provide retirement, disability and dependent benefits. The employee and RIT contributions for Medicare fund Medicare Part A. The employee Social Security and Medicare deductions are made automatically each pay period and are combined with RIT's contributions and forwarded to the Federal Government for these programs.

New York State Disability

New York State Disability is described in the Sick Leave and Short Term Disability section of this booklet.

Unemployment Insurance

Employees who terminate may be eligible for New York State unemployment insurance benefits. Employees should check with the New York State Department of Labor, Unemployment Insurance Division, to investigate possible eligibility.

Workers- Compensation

For more information about Workers' Compensation, please visit the Workers- Compensation information page.

Policy History

Revised September 2010