3.22 · Time Away from Work and Other Benefits

Family and Medical Leave (FMLA)

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Eligibility

The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides up to twelve workweeks of unpaid family and medical leave within a twelve-month period, subject to the following conditions. Florida does not have a separate state family or medical leave statute, so the FMLA governs in Florida.

The employee has been employed with the Company for a total of at least twelve months prior to the start of leave. The twelve months of employment must have accumulated within the previous seven years (subject to certain exceptions).
The employee has worked at least 1,250 hours during the twelve-month period preceding the need for leave.
The employee works at a site where the Company employs fifty or more employees within a seventy-five-mile radius.

FMLA leave may be taken for one or more of the following reasons:

The birth of the employee's child, or the placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care.
Incapacity due to pregnancy, prenatal medical care, or childbirth.
The employee's own serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the job.
To care for the employee's spouse, child, or parent who has a serious health condition.

For additional information about eligibility for family and medical leave, contact Human Resources.

Military Family Leave Entitlements

Eligible employees whose spouse, son, daughter, or parent is on covered active duty, or has been called to covered active duty status, may use the twelve-week leave entitlement for certain qualifying exigencies. Qualifying exigencies may include attending certain military events, arranging alternative childcare, addressing financial and legal arrangements, attending counseling sessions, and attending post-deployment reintegration briefings.

Eligible employees may also take a special leave entitlement of up to twenty-six workweeks during a single twelve-month period to care for a covered servicemember. A covered servicemember is either:

A current member of the Armed Forces, including a member of the National Guard or Reserves, who is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy, is otherwise in outpatient status, or is on the temporary disability retired list, for a serious injury or illness; or
A veteran who was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable at any time during the five-year period prior to the first date the eligible employee takes FMLA leave to care for the covered veteran, and who is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy for a serious injury or illness.

Calculating the Twelve-Month Period

The Company uses the calendar year for the purpose of calculating the twelve-month period during which up to twelve workweeks of family and medical leave or qualifying exigency leave may be taken. For leave to care for a covered servicemember, the twelve-month period begins on the first day the leave is taken, regardless of how the twelve-month period is calculated for other types of FMLA leave. Leave to care for a covered servicemember is for a maximum of twenty-six workweeks during that twelve-month period.

Time off because of a pregnancy disability, childbirth, or a related medical condition counts as family and medical leave under federal law. Employees who take time off for a pregnancy disability and who are FMLA-eligible will have their FMLA leave run concurrently with the period of disability. Once the employee is no longer disabled, or once the employee has given birth and the disability period has ended, the employee may use any remaining FMLA entitlement for the purpose of bonding with the new child. For more information, contact Human Resources.

Leave taken for the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child does not have to be taken in one continuous block of time. Any such intermittent leave taken for bonding must be concluded within one year of the birth or placement of the child with the employee.

Leave Procedures

The following procedures apply to family and medical leave:

Contact Human Resources and your supervisor as soon as you become aware of the need for family or medical leave. If the leave is for an expected birth, an adoption or foster care placement, or a planned medical treatment for the employee's serious health condition or that of a family member, the employee must give the Company at least thirty days' notice before the leave is to begin. The employee must consult with the supervisor regarding the scheduling of any planned medical treatment so as to minimize disruption to Company operations. Such scheduling is subject to approval by the treating health care provider.
If the employee cannot provide thirty days' notice, the Company must be informed as soon as is practical.
If the FMLA request is based on the employee's own serious health condition, the Company may require, at its expense, a second opinion from a health care provider chosen by the Company. The provider designated for the second opinion will not be one regularly employed by the Company.
If the second opinion differs from the first, the Company may require the employee, at the Company's expense, to obtain the opinion of a third health care provider designated or approved jointly by the employee and the Company. The opinion of the third provider will be considered final and binding on both parties.

Medical Certification

The Company requires certification of the need for FMLA leave in accordance with federal law. Leave related to a health condition of the employee or the employee's family member must be certified by a health care provider. The employee will have fifteen calendar days from the Company's request for certification to provide it, unless doing so within that period is not practical. The Company may require recertification from the health care provider if the employee requests additional leave at the expiration of the time period in the original certification. For example, if the employee initially needs two weeks of leave but thereafter requires intermittent leave, a new medical certification will be requested. If the employee fails to provide timely medical certification supporting the need for leave, the Company may delay approval of the leave, or the continuation of the leave, until certification is received. If certification is never provided, the leave may not be considered family and medical leave.

If the leave is needed to care for a sick child, spouse, or parent, the employee must provide a certification from the health care provider stating:

The date the serious health condition began.
The probable duration of the condition.
The estimated amount of time the health care provider expects the employee to be needed for care.
Confirmation that the serious health condition warrants the employee's participation.

If both parents are employed by the Company and request simultaneous leave for the birth or placement of a child for adoption or foster care, the Company will not grant more than a combined total of twelve workweeks of leave for that reason.

If the employee's own serious health condition is the reason for leave, the employee must provide a certification from the health care provider stating:

The date the serious health condition began.
The probable duration of the condition.
The employee's inability to work at all or to perform any one or more of the essential functions of the position because of the condition.

If the employee is absent because of the employee's own serious health condition, the Company will also require a medical release to return to work, or a certification from the health care provider that the employee is able to resume work. Failure to provide a release to return to work may result in denial of reinstatement until the certificate is obtained.

A leave taken due to a "qualifying exigency" related to military service must be supported by a certification of its necessity. A copy of the military member's active duty orders, or other official documentation issued by the military indicating that the member is on covered active duty or call to covered active duty status, may be required. A leave taken to care for a servicemember must be supported by a certification from the servicemember's health care provider, or by other certification permitted by law. Special certification requirements apply to leaves related to military service.

Pay and Benefits

Family and medical leave is unpaid. Employees may, however, elect to substitute accrued PTO and sick leave for the otherwise unpaid leave. Under certain circumstances, the Company may require the employee to use accrued leave. The substitution of paid leave does not extend the twelve-week period. To use paid leave during FMLA leave, the employee must comply with the Company's normal paid leave policies. For more information regarding when the substitution of paid leave is required or permitted, contact Human Resources.

While on family and medical leave, the employee will be allowed to continue participating in any health and welfare benefit plans in which the employee was enrolled before the first day of leave (for a maximum of twelve workweeks, or twenty-six workweeks if the leave is to care for a covered servicemember), at the level and under the conditions of coverage that would have applied had the employee continued in active employment for the duration of the leave. The Company will continue to make the same premium contribution as if the employee had continued working. Continued participation in health benefits begins on the date the leave first begins. In some instances, the Company may recover premiums paid to maintain health coverage if the employee fails to return to work following the leave.

If paid leave is substituted for unpaid family and medical leave, the employee's portion of any health and benefit plan premiums will be deducted through regular payroll practices. If the leave is unpaid, premium payments are due when they would otherwise be made by payroll deduction. The employee is responsible for coordinating these arrangements with Human Resources.

Reinstatement

Under most circumstances, an employee returning from family and medical leave will be reinstated to the original position or to an equivalent position with equivalent pay, benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment. An employee on leave has no greater right to reinstatement than if the employee had been continuously employed rather than on leave. For example, if an employee on leave would have been laid off had the employee not gone on leave, or if the employee's position is eliminated during the leave and no equivalent or comparable position is available, the employee would not be entitled to reinstatement. An employee's use of family and medical leave will not result in the loss of any employment benefit earned before the leave began.

Reinstatement after family and medical leave may be denied to certain salaried "key" employees under the following conditions:

The employee requesting reinstatement was among the highest-paid ten percent of salaried employees employed within seventy-five miles of the worksite at which the employee worked at the time of the leave request.
The refusal to reinstate is necessary because reinstatement would cause substantial and grievous economic injury to the Company's operations.
The employee is notified of the Company's intent to refuse reinstatement at the time the Company determines that the refusal is necessary.
If the leave has already begun, the Company gives the employee a reasonable opportunity to return to work following the notice described above.

Paid Time Off and Sick Leave Accrual

PTO and sick time will not accrue during any unpaid portion of the leave of absence, and employees will not receive pay for official holidays observed during the leave, except during those periods when paid leave is being substituted for unpaid leave.

Contact Human Resources with any questions regarding the accrual of other Company-provided paid leave benefits (such as PTO or sick leave) during unpaid FMLA leave.

Carryover

Leave granted for any of the reasons recognized under federal law will count as family and medical leave and will be considered part of the twelve-workweek entitlement (or the twenty-six-week entitlement if the leave is to care for a covered servicemember) within any twelve-month period. No carryover of unused leave from one twelve-month period to the next is permitted.

Intermittent Leave

FMLA leave may be taken intermittently (in blocks of time, or by reducing the employee's normal weekly or daily work schedule) if the leave is for the employee's own serious health condition or that of a qualifying family member, and the reduced schedule is medically necessary as determined by the health care provider of the person with the serious health condition. The smallest increment of time that can be used for such leave is fifteen minutes.