PE 435 - Family & Medical Leave of Absence

1. The employee must have worked for EICCD for 12 months or 52 weeks.
    
2. The employee must have worked at least 1,250 hours during the 12-month period immediately preceding the commencement of the leave.
    
3. The employee must work in a worksite where 50 or more employees are employed by EICC within 75 miles of that office or worksite. The distance is to be calculated by using available transportation by the most direct route.

C. Type of Leave Covered

To qualify as FMLA leave under this policy, the employee must be taking leave for one of the reasons listed below:

1. The birth of a child and in order to care for that child.
    
2. The placement of a child for adoption or foster care and to care for the newly placed child.
    
3. To care for a spouse, child or parent with a serious health condition.
    
4. The serious health condition of the employee. Serious health condition will be determined as defined by the Family Medical Leave Act.
    
5. Qualifying exigency leave for families of members of the National Guard or Reserves or of a regular component of the Armed Forces when the covered military member is on covered active duty or called to covered active duty.

   
   “Covered active duty” means:
   
   (a) “Covered active duty” for members of a regular component of the Armed Forces means duty during deployment of the member with the Armed Forces to a foreign country.

   (b) Covered active duty or call to covered active duty status in the case of a member of the Reserve components of the Armed Forces means duty during the deployment of the member with the Armed Forces to a foreign country under a Federal call or order to active duty in support of a contingency operation, in accordance with 29 CR 825.102.

6. Military caregiver leave (also known as covered service member leave) to care for an injured or ill service member or veteran. An employee whose son, daughter, parent or next of kin is a covered service member may take up to 26 weeks in a single 12-month period to care for that service member. Next of kin is defined as the closest blood relative of the injured or recovering service member.

FMLA leave applications must be approved by the Director of Human Resources or designee in accordance with the provisions of the Family and Medical Leave Act.

D. Amount of Leave

An eligible employee can take up to 12 weeks for FMLA circumstances (1) through (5) above under this policy during any 12-month period. EICCD will measure the 12-month period as a rolling 12-month period measured backward from the date an employee uses any leave under this policy. Each time an employee takes leave, EICCD will compute the amount of leave the employee has taken under this policy in the last 12 months and subtract it from the 12 weeks of available leave, and the balance remaining is the amount the employee is entitled to take at that time. For instructional employees, at the discretion of the District, unpaid leave may be extended to the end of a term in order to avoid disruption of continuity in the classroom.

An eligible employee can take up to 26 weeks for FMLA circumstance (6) above (military caregiver leave) during a single 12-month period. For this military caregiver leave, EICCD will measure the 12-month period as a rolling 12-month period measured backward. FMLA leave already taken for other FMLA circumstances will be deducted from the total of 26 weeks available.

E. Employee Status and Benefits During Leave

While an employee is on leave, EICCD will continue the employee’s health benefits during the leave period at the same level and under the same conditions as if the employee had continued to work.

If the employee chooses not to return to work for reasons other than a continued serious health condition of the employee or the employee’s family member or a circumstance beyond the employee’s control, EICCD will require the employee to reimburse EICCD the amount it paid for the employee’s health insurance premium during the leave period.

Under current policy, the employee pays a portion of the family health care premium. While on paid leave, EICCD will continue to make payroll deductions to collect the employee’s share of the premium.
 

F. Employee Status After Leave
An employee who takes leave under this policy may be asked to provide a fitness for duty (FFD) clearance from the health care provider. This requirement will be included in EICCD’s response to the FMLA request. An employee who takes FMLA leave will be able to return to the same position or a position with equivalent status, pay, benefits and other employment terms.
The position will be the same or one which is virtually identical in terms of pay, benefits and working conditions. EICCD may choose to exempt certain key employees from this requirement and not return them to the same or similar position.

G. Use of Paid Time While on Leave

An employee who takes leave under this policy shall be required to use paid time off benefits concurrent with leave. Employees will be required to use all applicable leave types, i.e. Serious Illness or Injury in the Immediate Family, Personal Leave, Sick Leave, Vacation and/or Banked Vacation. If an employee’s leave falls over a holiday, FMLA should be counted for that holiday. However, FMLA should not be counted during Summer Recess or Winter Recess for educational facilities (unless the employee’s department remains open).

DATE OF ADOPTION: 8/16/93
REVISED: 3/11/96; 8/17/15; 7/18/16
REVIEWED: 9/15/97; 5/15/00; 5/19/03; 12/18/06; 4/16/12; 12/10/18; 08/21/23
LEGAL REFERENCE: (Code of Iowa) 260C.
RELATED ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES: