(A) (1) An unpaid leave of absence up to 12 weeks in duration may be granted to eligible town employees for certain family and medical reasons. Employees are eligible for family medical leave if they have completed at least one year of service within the town and have worked at least 1,250 hours during the previous 12 months. Family medical leave will be granted should the need arise for any of the following reasons:
(a) Birth of the employee's child, or the placement of a child for adoption or foster care;
(b) To care for the employee's spouse, child, or parent who has a serious health condition; or
(c) For a serious health condition that causes the employee to be unable to perform his or her job.
(2) Leaves may begin before the birth of a child if a medical condition exists that makes the employee unable to perform the job, or prior to the placement of a child for adoption or foster care if circumstances require absence from work for the placement to proceed. An employee's entitlement to leave for a birth or placement of a child expires at the end of the 12-month period beginning on the date of the birth or placement.
(3) If a husband and wife are eligible for family medical leave and are both employed by the town, the husband and wife are permitted to take only a combined total of 12 weeks of leave during any 12-month period if the leave is taken for the birth or placement of a child for adoption or foster care or to care for a parent (but not a parent-in-law) with a serious health condition.
(B) The employee must provide 30 days notice if the need for the leave is foreseeable. Failure to provide 30 days advance notice for foreseeable leave may cause the leave to be denied until 30 days after the employee first gave the required notice of the foreseeable leave. If the need for the leave is not foreseeable, the employee must give notice to his or her supervisor as soon as practicable.
(C) The Office of the Town Manager shall determine family medical leave eligibility.
(D) The employee is required to provide medical certification to support the request for leave because of a serious health condition, and the town may require second or third medical opinions (at the town's expense) to verify the need for the leave. The employee must provide the requested medical certification to the town within 15 calendar days after the request. Failure to submit the required medical certification may result in the denial of the leave or the continuation of the leave.
(E) Fitness-for-duty certification must be provided to the town prior to the employee's return to work following a family medical leave due to a serious health condition of the employee. Failure to provide the requested fitness-for-duty certification may result in the denial of reinstatement until the employee submits the required certification.
(F) The 12-month period in which an employee's 12 weeks of family medical leave entitlement occurs will consist of the 12-month period measured forward from the date the particular employee's first family medical leave begins.
(G) All available accrued paid personal and sick days will be substituted for all or part of any otherwise unpaid family medical leave. In addition, all but five days of an employee's available accrued paid vacation days will also be substituted for any otherwise unpaid family medical leave. If the reason for the leave was due to a serious health condition of the employee or an immediate family member of the employee, accrued paid sick days will be used first, followed by accrued paid personal days, followed by accrued paid vacation days. If the reason for the family medical leave was not due to the serious health condition of the employee or an immediate family member of the employee, or an immediate family member of the employee, accrued paid personal days will be used first, followed by accrued paid vacation days. This qualifying paid leave will be counted as part of the employee's 12 weeks of family medical leave entitlement. However, the use of paid leave under circumstances which do not qualify as family medical leave will not be counted against the 12 weeks of family medical leave to which the employee is entitled.
(H) (1) During the family medical leave, the town will maintain the employee's health coverage under the town's group health plan at the same level as it existed prior to the leave. Employees will be required to pay their share of the premium payments in the following ways:
(a) If accrued paid vacation, personal, or sick leave is available and substituted for all or part of any otherwise unpaid family medical leave, the employee's share of the premium will be paid by payroll deduction; or
(b) If the employee has exhausted all available paid leave, payment must be made to the town by the employee at the same time as it would be made if by payroll deduction; or
(c) If the leave is foreseeable, employees may choose to prepay the premiums through increase payroll deductions.
(2) Failure to make payments in a timely manner may cause a lapse in coverage/benefits. The town may recover the employee's share of any premium payments missed by the employee during family medical leave if the town maintained health coverage by paying the employee's share after the premium payment was missed by the employee. The town may, in certain circumstances, also recover its share of premiums the town paid during a family medical leave from an employee if the employee fails to return to work after the employee's family medical leave entitlement has been exhausted.
(I) An employee will be required to provide the town with periodic reports on his or her status during the leave. Requested medical information must be provided within 15 days of the request.
(J) (1) Upon the employee's return from family medical leave, the employee will be restored to his or her former position or an equivalent position with equivalent pay, benefits, and other employment terms, if the employee has provided the required fitness-for-duty certification. This job restoration right only applies to employees who return to work on or before the exhaustion of their 12 weeks of family medical leave entitlement. However, the town may deny job restoration to “key employees” (salaried eligible employees who are among the highest paid 10% of the town's employees). Job restoration may be denied to key employees if:
(a) The denial of job restoration is necessary to prevent substantial and grievous economic injury to the town's operations;
(b) The key employee is notified that the town has determined that such economic injury would occur and that job restoration will likely be denied; and
(c) Where the leave has begun, a key employee elects not to return to work after receiving such notice.
(2) Key employees will continue to be entitled to maintenance of health benefits after receipt of such notice and will not be required to repay the town's cost of health care premiums if job restoration is denied.
(Ord. 1993-27, passed 11-8-93)