All policies regarding Family Medical Leave (FML) shall be in accordance with applicable laws.
(A) Eligible employees. Employees are eligible for Family Medical Leave (FML) if they meet the following criteria:
(1) Employee has been employed by the city for at least 12 months;
(2) Employee has been in paid work status with at least 1,250 hours of service during the 12-month period immediately preceding the start of the leave. Paid vacation, sick leave, and other paid time off does not count toward the 1,250 hours of service.
(B) Eligible leave. Employees who meet the above criteria are eligible for up to 12 weeks of FML in any 12-month period for any of the following reasons:
(1) Birth of a child, and to care for a newborn child;
(2) Placement of a child by way of adoption or foster care;
(3) The employee having a serious health condition that makes them unable to perform the functions of his or her job;
(4) To care for the employee's spouse, son, daughter, or parent who has a serious health condition;
(5) Due to a qualifying exigency because the eligible employee’s spouse, son, daughter, or parent is a covered military member on active duty, or has been notified of an impending call or order to active duty, in the Armed Forces in support of a contingency operation; and to care for a “covered service member” who has a serious injury or illness if the employee is the spouse, son, daughter, parent or next of kin of the service member.
(C) Definitions.
CHILD. A son or daughter, including a child 18 years or over, who is incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability.
FOSTER CARE. Placement of a child with the employee through a formal agreement for substitute care requiring state action, rather than an informal arrangement to take care of another person's child.
PARENT. Biological parent or an individual who stands in the place of a parent to the employee.
SERIOUS HEALTH CONDITION. An illness, injury, impairment, or physical/mental condition that involves a period of incapacity or treatment that requires absence from employment for more than three calendar days and involves care by a health care provider. SERIOUS HEALTH CONDITION also includes continuing treatment of chronic or long-term incurable conditions and pre- natal care.
SPOUSE. Husband or wife, including common law marriages where/when recognized.
Unmarried domestic partners do not qualify for Family Medical Leave to care for their partner.
(D) Request/notification of leave. When feasible, employees must submit a written request for leave 30 days prior to the requested leave start date. In situations involving medical emergencies, etc., employees are to submit their request as soon as possible, but not later than four days after the beginning of the emergency situation.
(1) Request for leave will include a brief description of the need for leave, identify whom the leave is for, what relationship the individual is to the employee (e.g. employee, spouse, parent, and the like), and length of leave requested. Along with the request, the employee will also furnish the City Manager with medical certification of the serious health condition from the physical/health care provider. The medical certification shall include the identity of the individual with the serious health condition, date on which the condition began, probable duration of the condition, and whether the employee is unable to perform the essential functions of his or her job. Based upon the request for leave and the medical provider's certification, the City Manager shall authorize or deny the request, or may, at the city's expense, require the employee to obtain a second medical opinion to confirm the leave request.
(2) The City Manager may designate that an employee's leave qualifies for and will be counted as Family Medical Leave. The City Manager must make such designation prior to the starting of the leave unless sufficient information as to the reason for the leave is not available until after the leave began.
(E) (1) Approval/denial of leave request. The City Manager shall notify the employee orally or in writing within two business days as to the approval or denial of his or her FML request. Oral notice will be followed by written confirmation by payday following. The city shall note the starting and ending dates of leave, reinstatement procedures and utilization of accumulated paid leave. The city's insurance carrier/consultant shall notify the employee as to the status of insurance coverage and the employee's contributions, if applicable, when notified by the city.
(2) Utilization of accumulated paid leave. Employees shall take any accumulated paid leave during the 12-week period and the remainder of leave, if any, will be on an unpaid basis.
(F) Leave period. An eligible employee may take up to 12 work weeks of FML leave during a 12-month period. The 12-month period shall be measured from the date of the employee's first Family and Medical Leave begins. Employees may request intermittent or reduced leave schedules to accommodate medically necessary treatment in connection with a serious health condition. Intermittent or reduced leave may not exceed the total hours an employee would have worked during their regular 12-week schedule. If intermittent or reduced leave is approved, the City Manager may require the employee to schedule the leave so as not to unduly disrupt the city's operations, or the employee may be placed in an alternate position which better accommodates the intermittent leave schedule. When both spouses are employed by the city, they are entitled to an aggregate total of 12 weeks of FML for childbirth, adoption placement or foster care. This limitation does not apply to FML taken by either spouse to care for the other spouse, a child, or parent with a serious health condition.
(G) Insurance coverage. Employees are entitled to maintain the same health benefits during the FML leave. Employees are responsible for continuing to pay any share of the health care costs that they were responsible for prior to the leave. Failure of the employee to timely pay their portion of health care costs may result in discontinuation of coverage. Should an employee fail to return to work after his or her FML expires, the city may recover from the employee the city's share of health insurance premiums paid during the period of unpaid FML leave. Insurance premiums may not be recovered if the employee fails to return to work due to the continuation, recurrence or onset of a serious health condition or circumstances beyond the employee's control.
(H) Under the Uniformed Service Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), members of the uniformed services returning to work after military service will receive credit for any months and hours of service that they would have been employed but for the period of military service in determining FMLA eligibility.
(I) Qualifying employees are entitled to both the Family (Military) Leave of Absence and the Active Duty Family Leave in accordance with all applicable Federal laws. The City will require certification and verification for both Active Duty Leave and certification for Covered Service member status. There is no recertification for Active Duty or Covered Service member leave.
(J) Reinstatement. Employees returning from FML shall be placed in their same position or equivalent positions with equivalent pay, benefits and conditions. Employees whose FML was for their own personal medical conditions must, prior to reinstatement, submit medical certification to the city as to their ability to return to work, subject to a second medical opinion as deemed necessary by the city or a third medical opinion as provided in the Family and Medical Leave Act.
(K) Employees whose FML was for their own personal medical conditions must, prior to reinstatement, submit medical certification to the city as to their ability to return to work, subject to a second medical opinion as deemed necessary by the city or a third medical opinion as provided in the Family and Medical Leave Act.
(Ord. 9052, passed 12-14-04; Am. Ord. 2021-112, passed 12-14-21)