FMLA for Birth

FunHRBanker

One of our employees is pregnant and due 12/25. We use calendar year for calculations. After the first 6 weeks of leave, we require the use of vacation and personal time. If she is out for 2 weeks in December and then the rest in 2008, would she technically get 8 weeks before we can force the use of PTO? Technically she would start over with 12 weeks of unpaid FMLA January 1, right?

I don't think this employee will "work" the system, but I don't want to force the use of time before I legally can.

ritaanz

If I understand your post, you use January to December for FMLA. In addition, your policy is to require an employee to use PTO after they are out for 6 weeks. I believe the two policies are separate.

After the employee is out 6 consecuutive weeks, you should require that she use her PTO.

FunHRBanker

Yes, we use January through December as our FMLA year. Our FMLA policy reads, "Employees on FMLA leave may use any available paid vacation time or personal days while on leave, and may be required to use any available paid vacation time or personal days while on leave as follows: (1) after the first six weeks of FMLA leave to care for a child upon birth or placement for adoption or foster care..."

According to your interpretation, the employee's FMLA clock would renew 1/1 for an additional 12 weeks of leave, but the first 2 weeks from 2007 would count toward the 6 week limitation for unsubstituted leave. Am I correct? We've never run into this situation before!

ritaanz

Yes, that is the way I see it.

jenniferc

If that is a part of the FMLA policy and not part of a general leave policy, they are not part of 2 separate policies. If you use the Jan - Dec calendar, then the policy and the employees rights start over on Jan 1. I would use caution in treating this as 2 separate policies if this is only covered under 1 policy. You count the time as 2 separate years, and you cannot hold FMLA time taken in a previous year against an employee. It's always better to err on the side of the employee.

FunHRBanker

With any employee whose leave would span 2 years, their 2 week or 6 week state leave (therefore the period that we cannot force the use of PTO) would begin again on 1/1? That makes sense also since the FMLA entitlement period for both state and federal would renew on 1/1.

LindaS

As you are aware, WIFMLA runs calendar year so to use your example above, the EE would use two weeks in 2007 and get another 6 weeks on 1/1/08. As a result, the EE would be off work for 8 weeks before you could require her to use any of her vacation and/or personal time.

FunHRBanker

That's what we determined too.

Thanks!