· What is FMLA - Answers o FMLA is a federal law requiring employers to provide job-protected leave for
qualified family and medical reasons for up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave
- It was designed to "b_a_l_a_n_c_e_ _t_h_e_ _d_e_m_a_n_d_s_ o_f_ t_h_e workplace with the needs
of families".
Qualifications for FMLA
- 12 months; 1250 hours, 50 employees in 75 miles - Answers o Employee is eligible if they worked for
employer at least 12 months (cumulative 7 years)
o Employee is eligible if they worked 1,250 hours in the 12 months immediately preceding start of leave
o Also need 50 employees in a 75 mile radius
· Calculation for eligibility - Answers o Revolving door
o Northeastern uses a "rolling" 12 month look back period
o Each time an employee takes an FMLA leave, the leave entitlement would be 12 weeks minus any time
used in the prior 12 months
· Qualifying events
- birth/placement of child for adoption
- bond with child in 1st year
- care for spouse/child/parent
- own serious health condition
- sick time is job protected - Answers o Eligible employees can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-
protected leave in a 12-month period for the following reasons:
- Birth or placement of child for adoption or foster care
- To bond with a child - within 1 year of birth
- To care for employee's spouse, child or parent
- Employee's own qualifying serious health condition
o Sick time with FMLA is job protected
· Serious Health condition & Certification
, - inpatient care/overnight stay, continuing treatment, chronic conditions
- medical certification is required, fitness for duty document is required - Answers o A serious health
condition means an injury, illness, or impairment that involves:
- Inpatient care-overnight stay in hospital, hospice or residential medical care facility
- Continuing treatment by a health care provider
- Chronic conditions
o Medical certification for the employee's serious health condition or employee's ill family member to
support need for leave must be provided
o Fitness for duty document is required for employees to return to work
· How Can Leave Be Taken - Answers Continuous leave
Intermittent leave
Reduced schedule leave
Continuous leave - Answers leave taken in blocks of time
Intermittent leave
- separate blocks, own health/family member's health
- weeks are calculated into hours for leave - Answers o leave taken in separate blocks of time due to
illness or injury
- At Northeastern, intermittent leaves can only be taken for an employee's serious health condition or
eligible family member's serious health condition
- FMLA weeks are calculated into hours for intermittent leave (i.e. 40-hour workweek = 480 FMLA hours)
Reduced schedule leave - Answers o schedule that reduces employee's usual working hours per week or
per day
· Reinstatement when returning from FMLA
- entitled to return/pay & benefits
- reinstatement guaranteed even if filled/accomodated - Answers o Employee is entitled to return to
same position, pay and benefits held when leave began or to an equivalent position