Basic Leave Entitlement
The Family and Medical Leave Act provides up to 12 work weeks (and in certain cases, 26 weeks) of job-protected leave to any eligible employee for certain family and medical reasons. Employees are eligible if they have worked for EDENS for at least one year, and for at least 1,250 hours over the previous 12 months. During the FMLA leave, EDENS maintains eligible employees’ pre-existing health coverage during FMLA qualified leave and restores eligible employees to their same or equivalent position at the end of their FMLA qualified leave. FMLA runs concurrently with all other leave programs.
FMLA requires covered employers to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave to eligible employees for the following reasons:
- For incapacity due to pregnancy, prenatal medical care or child birth;
- To care for the employee’s child after birth, or placement for adoption or foster care;
- To care for the employee’s spouse, son or daughter, or parent, who has a serious health condition; or
- For a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the employee’s job.
Military Family Leave Entitlements
Eligible employees whose spouse, son, daughter or parent is on covered active duty or called to covered active duty status may use their 12-week leave entitlement to address certain qualifying exigencies. Qualifying exigencies may include attending certain military events, arranging for alternative childcare, addressing certain financial and legal arrangements, attending certain counseling sessions, and attending post-deployment reintegration briefings.
FMLA also includes a special leave entitlement that permits eligible employees to take up to 26 weeks of leave to care for a covered servicemember during a single 12-month period. A covered servicemember is: (1) 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 otherwise on the temporary disability retired list, for a serious injury or illness*; or (2) 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.*
*The FMLA definitions of “serious injury or illness” for current servicemembers and veterans are distinct from the FMLA definition of “serious health condition”
Benefits and Protections
During FMLA leave, the employer must maintain the employee’s health coverage under any “group health plan” on the same terms as if the employee had continued to work. If on unpaid leave, employees must make arrangements to pay their share of health plan premiums while on leave. In some instances, the Company may recover premiums it paid to maintain health coverage or other benefits for employees and their family. Upon return from FMLA leave, most employees must be restored to their original or equivalent positions with equivalent pay, benefits, and other employment terms.
Use of FMLA leave cannot result in the loss of any employment benefit that accrued prior to the start of an employee’s leave.
Eligibility Requirements
Employees are eligible if they have worked for a covered employer for at least one year, for 1,250 hours over the previous 12 months*, and if at least 50 employees are employed by the employer within 75 miles.
*Special hours of service eligibility requirements apply to airline flight crew employees.
Definition of Serious Health Condition
A serious health condition is an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves either an overnight stay in a medical care facility, or continuing treatment by a health care provider for a condition that either prevents the employee from performing the functions of the employee’s job, or prevents the qualified family member from participating in school or other daily activities.
Subject to certain conditions, the continuing treatment requirement may be met by a period of incapacity of more than 3 consecutive calendar days combined with at least two visits to a health care provider or one visit and a regimen of continuing treatment, or incapacity due to pregnancy, or incapacity due to a chronic condition. Other conditions may meet the definition of continuing treatment.
Use of Leave
Eligible employees may take FMLA leave in a single block of time, intermittently (in separate blocks of time), or by reducing the normal work schedule when medically necessary for the serious health condition of the employee or immediate family member, or in the case of a covered servicemember, his or her injury or illness. Eligible employees may also take intermittent or reduced-scheduled leave for military qualifying exigencies. Intermittent leave is not permitted for birth of a child, to care for a newly-born child, or for placement of a child for adoption or foster care. Employees who require intermittent or reduced-schedule leave must try to schedule their leave so that it will not unduly disrupt the Company’s operations.
Exhaustion of Paid Leave Prior to Unpaid Leave
EDENS requires employees to use all accrued paid leave (vacation and sick) concurrently with FMLA leave prior to taking any unpaid leave. During unpaid leave, no vacation or sick leave will be accrued, the employee is responsible for paying for all enrolled benefits, and in addition, is not allowed to contribute to the 401(k).
Employee Responsibilities
Employees must provide 30 day’s advance notice of the need to take FMLA leave when the need is foreseeable. When 30 days notice is not possible, the employee must provide notice as soon as practicable and generally must comply with an employer’s normal call-in procedures.
EDENS has contracted with Guardian to be our Third-Party Administrator of FMLA. Employees must submit leave FMLA requests, using the Guardian FMLA Intake form, directly to Guardian. A copy of the submission must be sent to Camelia Stepanov, Payroll and Benefits Specialist. Please contact Camelia Stepanov with any questions.
Employees must provide sufficient information for the employer to determine if the leave may qualify for FMLA protection and the anticipated timing and duration of the leave. Sufficient information may include that the employee is unable to perform job functions, the family member is unable to perform daily activities, the need for hospitalization or continuing treatment by a health care provider, or circumstances supporting the need for military family leave. Employees also must inform the employer if the requested leave is for a reason for which FMLA leave was previously taken or certified. Employees also may be required to provide a certification and periodic recertification supporting the need for leave.
Employer Responsibilities
Covered employers must inform employees requesting leave whether they are eligible under FMLA. If they are, the notice must specify any additional information required as well as the employees’ rights and responsibilities. If they are not eligible, the employer must provide a reason for the ineligibility.
Covered employers must inform employees if leave will be designated as FMLA-protected and the amount of leave counted against the employee’s leave entitlement. If the employer determines that the leave is not FMLA-protected, the employer must notify the employee.
Other Employment
The Company generally prohibits employees from holding other employment. This policy remains in force during all leaves of absence including FMLA leave and violation may result in disciplinary action, up to and including immediate termination of employment.
Fraud
Providing false or misleading information or omitting material information in connection with an FMLA leave will result in disciplinary action, up to and including immediate termination.
Unlawful Acts by Employers
FMLA makes it unlawful for any employer to:
- Interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of any right provided under FMLA;
- Discharge or discriminate against any person for opposing any practice made unlawful by FMLA or for involvement in any proceeding under or relating to FMLA.
Enforcement
While the Company encourages employees to bring any concerns or complaints about compliance with FMLA to the attention of the Human Resources Department, FMLA regulations require employers to advise employees that they may file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor or may bring a private lawsuit against an employer.
FMLA does not affect any Federal or State law prohibiting discrimination, or supersede any State or local law or collective bargaining agreement which provides greater family or medical leave rights.
FMLA section 109 (29 U.S.C. § 2619) requires FMLA covered employers to post the text of this notice. Regulations 29 C.F.R. § 825.300(a) may require additional disclosures.
The foregoing summaries of the employee benefit programs maintained by the Company are qualified in their entirety by the plan summaries and descriptions available at www.EDENSbenefits.com. The benefits programs maintained by the Company may be amended or eliminated at the Company’s discretion, subject to applicable law and government regulations.
Department of Labor FMLA Poster