In accordance with the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA), Arkansas Support Network provides up to 12 or 26 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period to covered employees in certain circumstances.
Eligibility
To qualify for FMLA leave, you must:
- Have worked for the Company for at least 12 months, although that time need not be consecutive;
- Have worked at least 1,250 hours in the last 12 months; and
- Be employed at a worksite that has 50 or more employees within 75 miles.
Reasons for Leave
You may take up to 12 weeks of unpaid FMLA leave in a 12-month period, which is a rolling 12-month period based on the first day of leave, for any of the following reasons:
- The birth of a child and to care for that child (leave must be completed within one year of the child's birth);
- The adoption or foster care placement of a child with you and in order to care for the newly placed child (leave must be completed within one year of the child's placement);
- To care for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition;
- To care for your own serious health condition that makes you unable to perform the essential functions of your position; or
- A qualifying exigency of a spouse, child, or parent who is a military member on covered active duty or called to covered active duty status (or has been notified of an impending call or order to covered active duty).
You may take up to 26 weeks of unpaid FMLA leave in a single 12-month period, beginning on the first day that you take FMLA leave, to care for a spouse, child, parent, or next of kin who is a covered service member and who has a serious injury or illness related to active duty service.
As used in this policy:
- Spouse means a husband or wife as recognized under state law for the purposes of marriage in the state or other territory or country where the marriage took place.
- Child means a biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward, or a child of a person standing in loco parentis, who is either under age 18 or age 18 or older and incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability at the time FMLA leave is to commence. A child for the purposes of military exigency or military care leave can be of any age.
- Parent means a biological, adoptive, step, or foster parent, or any other individual who stood in loco parentis to you when you were a child.
- Next of kin for the purposes of military care leave is a blood relative other than a spouse, parent, or child in the following order: brothers and sisters, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and first cousins. If a military service member designates in writing another blood relative as their caregiver, that individual will be the only next of kin. In appropriate circumstances, you may be required to provide documentation of next of kin status.
Notice
If the need for leave is foreseeable because of an expected birth, adoption, or a planned medical treatment, you must give at least 30 days' notice. If 30 days' notice is not possible, give notice as soon as practical (within one or two business days of learning of your need for leave). Failure to provide appropriate notice may result in the delay or denial of leave.
In addition, if you are seeking intermittent or reduced schedule leave that is foreseeable due to a planned medical treatment or a series of treatments for yourself, a family member, or covered service member, you must first consult with the Company regarding the dates of this treatment to work out a schedule that best suits your needs or the needs of the covered military member, if applicable, and the Company.
If the need for leave is unforeseeable, provide notice as soon as possible. Normal call-in procedures apply to all absences from work, including requests for absences under this policy. Failure to provide appropriate notice may result in the delay or denial of leave.
Please reach out to Human Resources at asnhrdepartment@supports.org for leave request forms.
Certification
If you are requesting leave because of your own or a covered relative's serious health condition, you and the relevant healthcare provider must supply appropriate medical certification. You may obtain medical certification forms from Human Resources at asnhrdepartment@supports.org. When you request leave, the Company will notify you of the requirement for medical certification and when it is due (at least 15 days after you request leave). If you provide at least 30 days' notice of medical leave, you should also provide the medical certification before leave begins. Failure to provide requested medical certification in a timely manner may result in denial of FMLA-covered leave until it is provided.
At our expense, the Company may require an examination by a second healthcare provider designated by us. If the second healthcare provider's opinion conflicts with the original medical certification, we, at our expense, may require a third, mutually agreeable, healthcare provider to conduct an examination and provide a final and binding opinion. Subsequent medical recertification may also be required. Failure to provide requested certification within 15 days, when practical, may delay further leave until it is provided.
The Company also reserves the right to require certification from a covered military member's healthcare provider if you are requesting military caregiver leave and certification in connection with military exigency leave.
Paid Leave Utilization During FMLA Leave
FMLA leave is unpaid; however, you will be required to use available paid leave during FMLA leave as permitted by law.
FMLA leave runs concurrently with other leaves, such as accrued paid leave that is substituted for unpaid FMLA leave and any state family leave laws, to the extent allowed by applicable law. The substitution of paid leave for unpaid FMLA leave does not extend the 12 or 26 weeks (whichever is applicable) of FMLA leave. In addition, the substitution of paid leave for unpaid leave may not result in you receiving more than 100% of your salary.
If you are receiving short- or long-term disability or workers' compensation benefits during a personal medical leave, you will not be required to use accrued paid leave. However, where state law permits, you may elect to use accrued paid leave to supplement these benefits.
Leave Increments
Intermittent Leave
If medically necessary, FMLA leave for a serious health condition may be taken intermittently (in separate blocks of time) or on a reduced leave schedule (reducing the usual number of hours you work per workweek or workday). FMLA leave may also be taken intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule for a qualifying exigency relating to covered military service.
As FMLA leave is unpaid, the Company will reduce your salary based on the amount of time actually worked. In addition, while you are on an intermittent or reduced schedule leave that is foreseeable due to planned medical treatments, the Company may temporarily transfer you to an available alternative position that better accommodates your leave schedule and has equivalent pay and benefits.
Parental Leave
Leave for the birth or placement of a child must be taken in a single block and cannot be taken on an intermittent or reduced schedule basis. Parental leave must be completed within 12 months of the birth or placement of the child; however, you may use parental leave before the placement of an adopted or foster child to consult with attorneys, appear in court, attend counseling sessions, etc.
Family Care, Personal Medical, Military Exigency, and Military Care Leave
Leave taken for these reasons may be taken in a block or blocks of time. In addition, if a healthcare provider deems it necessary or if the nature of a qualifying exigency requires, leave for these reasons can be taken on an intermittent or reduced schedule basis.
Fitness for Duty Requirements
If you take leave because of your own serious health condition (except if you are taking intermittent leave), you are required, as are all employees returning from other types of medical leave, to provide medical certification that you are fit to resume work. You will not be permitted to resume work until certification is provided.
Health Insurance
Maintaining Coverage During Leave
Your health insurance coverage will be maintained by the Company during leave on the same basis as if you were still working. You must continue to make timely payments of your share of the premiums for such coverage. Failure to pay premiums within 30 days of when they are due may result in a lapse of coverage. If this occurs, you will be notified 15 days before the date coverage lapses that coverage will terminate unless payments are promptly made.
Payment of Premiums
Alternatively, at our option, the Company may pay your share of the premiums during the leave and recover the costs of this insurance upon your return to work. Coverage that lapses due to nonpayment of premiums will be reinstated immediately upon return to work without a waiting period. Under most circumstances, if you do not return to work at the end of leave, the Company may require reimbursement for the health insurance premiums paid during the leave.
Reinstatement
Upon returning to work at the end of leave, you will generally be placed in your original job or an equivalent job with equivalent pay and benefits. You will not lose any benefits that accrued before leave was taken.
Spouse Aggregation
If both you and your spouse work at the Company, you are collectively eligible for 12 weeks of leave for the birth or placement of a child or to care for a parent with a serious health condition. Similarly, spouses employed by the Company will be limited to a combined total of 26 weeks of leave to care for a military service member. This 26-week leave period will be reduced, however, by the amount of leave taken for other qualifying FMLA events. This type of leave aggregation does not apply to leave needed for your own serious health condition, to care for a spouse or child with a serious health condition, or because of a qualifying exigency.
Failure to Return
If you fail to return to work or fail to make a request for an extension of leave prior to the expiration of the leave, you will be deemed to have voluntarily terminated your employment. The Company is not required to grant requests for open-ended leaves with no reasonable return date under these policies or as disability accommodations.
Interaction with State and Local Laws
Where state or local laws intersect with the FMLA, the Company will comply with the law that is the most favorable to you.
Abuse of Leave
If you are found to have provided a false reason for a leave, you will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination.
Designation of Leave
If the Company becomes aware of any qualifying reason for FMLA leave, the Company will designate it as such. You may not refuse FMLA designation under this policy.
Retaliation
The Company will not retaliate against employees who request or take leave in accordance with this policy.
Required Notice
The Company is required to provide you with a copy of the Your Employee Rights Under the Family and Medical Leave Act notice, which is attached as an addendum at the end of the handbook.