Earning FMLA Time on Leave

AnneLa

I have an employee who has been battling cancer for a couple of years now. We have no problem holding her job, etc. My question has to do with earning FMLA time while on leave. We use a rolling 12 month period. Would this person earn FMLA time while still on leave - not designated as FMLA, but personal medical leave? Since she is not working, I don't see how she can earn time for FMLA. I've searched thru all of my material, but can't find this situation covered. If she would return to work, does she automatically begin to earn FMLA time on a week by week basis?

HRinFL

FMLA grants 12 weeks of protected leave over a 12 month period. Your description is a rolling 12 months, so yes, she would be able to regain FMLA time week by week. HOwever, it is not when she returns, rather it is from the date her FMLA began. So, if she ttok 12 weeks beginning this week, she would begin to regain weeks this time next year. The key is consistently tracking her FMLA usage.

I am not sure what you are referring to when you talk about personal medical leave. Is this a benefit provided by the company in addition to FMLA, or for those that do not qualify for FMLA? If it is, I would say that you can treat this however you want. It is not mandated by law, so you have the freedom to set it up however you so choose. I do not see why you would want someone to "earn" additional time while they are on leave, it just allows them to prolong the time out. We have a disability leave, it can be used when FMLA expires, or for those not qualified for FMLA, in leiu of FMLA benefits. They do not "earn" time. We allow 12 weeks, that is all. This is administered like FMLA, and has to be for the ee OWN serious health condition. Hope this helps!

juju

I think this depends on how long she has been out on your company's LOA. In order to be eligible for FMLA she must have worked 1250 hours in the 12 months before the start date of the leave. If she has not met that 1250 hour requirement, she does not get any more FMLA time.

AnneLa

Just to give a bit more detail, we provide employees with a serious health condition up to an additional 6 months time off. This employee has spent more than 12 weeks off in the last year, and that is why I am unclear as to where to turn. I did not find any info in the regs regarding additional time off - and if the employer does give additioanl time off, does that time off have to be counted in determining the next FMLA leave period. It's just a matter of time before she needs more time .... unfortunately.

HRLASS

29 CFR 825.110(c) states "Whether an employee has worked the minimum 1,250 hours of service is determined according to the principles established under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for determining compensable hours of work (see 29 CFR 785). The determining factor is the number of hours an employee has worked for the employer within the meaning of the FLSA."
Under the FLSA, time spent on vacation and any kind of leave from a dr appt through a leave of absence for whatever reason, does not count towards the 1,250 hours worked required for FMLA eligibility. If she returns to work, she begins to earn FMLA time per the other posts.

pork1

I concurr, and ask what happens to the individuals medical plan coverage during this additional time off?

PORK

AnneLa

The employee continues paying the ee contribution and the company pays its share...........