FMLA Calendar year basis question

Caroliso

OUr 12-month period is a calendar year. How are the following examples treated?

1) Person requests leave due to serious medical condition on Nov. 1. Does she get 8 weeks and then another 12 weeks on Jan 1 for the same condition if it continues and she so requests?

A male employee requests parental leave on Nov. 1. Same question -- does he get 8 weeks and then another 12 weeks on Jan 1? The description says leave can be for caring for the child, but doesn't say it has to be within the first 12 weeks following the child's birth, thus allowing the "extension" into the new year. or so I think.

Thanks.

Carol

NaeNae55

Employers who put their FMLA on a calendar year basis run the risk of having employees take legally protected leave of up to 24 weeks in a row. They can take up to 12 weeks at the end of year 1 and then take another 12 at the beginning of year 2.

So, a person taking FMLA effective Nov 1 will be able to take 8 weeks in year 1 and still have 12 weeks available starting jan 1st of year 2.

This is why most employers opt for a rotating FMLA leave year. If I were you, I would try to get my company policy changed to the rotating year as soon as is feasibly possible.

I am not sure I understand the last part of your question so I will leave that to someone else.

Nae

Caroliso

Thanks. I have considered the rolling year methodology but the tracking aspect as I understand it is pretty complicated and I'm not sure it's worth the time spent tracking each leave given our resources and the likelihood of "abuse". That's why I'm probing the parental leave example. my question there has to do with how long after the birth of a newborn one can legitimately request FMLA leave. In my example, can months 3, 4 and 5 after the birth of the baby (the second year FMLA claim) still be considered a qualifying event?

NaeNae55

This is a good question. I got out my FMLA handbook, but it doesn't exactly address the issue.

The law says that when you have 2 parents working for the same company they can only take a total of 12 weeks for bonding. If they both want to take off, they must split the time. They can both have a total of 12 weeks of leave, but they can't both have a total of 12 weeks for bonding (they can take the balance of their time for a serious illness). Therefore I would think that you would have to let your employee have 8 weeks in year 1 and 4 weeks in year 2 to bond with the child (you would treat it as one event with a max of 12 weeks). They would then have 8 weeks available in year 2 for a serious health condition. If the child is ill the parent could apply that leave towards the remaining 8 weeks in year 2 (and therefore still get 20 weeks in a row).

It all depends on how the leave is applied for and how you certify it. For instance, if the parent requests leave for bonding, and the child is sick during the 1st 2 weeks, they can't suddenly change it to 2 weeks for illness and then want 12 weeks for bonding.

We use the rolling look-back method. I simply have a log with FMLA leave periods on it. If someone asks for leave, I look at the last 12 months of the log. If the employee is not listed, they get the full leave. If they are, I deduct used time from 12 weeks to see what they have available.

I have now re-read my post and am second guessing myself. Could an employee apply for leave for bonding, use 12 weeks, and then apply again for the same child? Hmmm. I don't think so.

Obviously we need someone with more knowledge than me to post. How about it guys? Anyone out there who can clear this up?

Nae

LarryC

In answer to your second question, this is sometimes referred to as "bonding leave" and must be completed within 12 months of the birth or placement.