4-15: Family and Medical Leave Act – Procedures

SFCC understands the need for employees to take time off work when they have a serious health condition, when their spouse, children or parents have a serious health condition, when they are caring for a new baby or adopted or foster child, and when they are impacted by military deployment or other military activity associated with being called to active duty. These procedures list how an SFCC employee can go through the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) process here at the College.

1. The employee must fill out the SFCC FMLA request form and return it to Office of Human Resources. The form is available as a link in Section 4 online under Policy 4-15.
2. For circumstances related to a serious health condition, the employee must then take the Health Care Provider Certification document to the health care provider for authorization and signature, and then submit this document to the Office of Human Resources.
   1. Once the Office of Human Resources receives the FMLA request form and the Health Care Provider Certification document, the Executive Director of Human Resources will review and approve as appropriate.
   2. The Executive Director may have the employee obtain further information from the health care provider if the original certification does not provide sufficient information about the nature or extent of the need for FMLA. The Executive Director also may have the employee obtain a certification from another health care provider if the provider who initially certified the need for FMLA does not appear to have sufficient information to have provided the certification.
   3. The Benefits Specialist will put the FMLA information in Banner.
   4. The Benefits Specialist will send approval letters to the employee, supervisor, payroll office and the Office of Human Resources will keep a copy.
   5. The employee is then responsible for accurately filling out the Report of Absence to claim FMLA hours used and submitting the form to the payroll office.
   6. The Benefits Specialist will keep track of FMLA hours and inform the Executive Director if and when the employee is close to using up the total number of allowable hours.
   7. After consultation with their provider, if the employee decides they are ready to return to work, the employee must provide the the Office of Human Resources with a health care provider’s note that states the employee is ready to return to normal or modified duties. A copy of the note will go to the supervisor and the Office of Human Resources will keep the original.

3. For circumstances related to caring for children new to the family, the employee must provide the Office of Human Resources with proof of birth, adoption or foster care assignment. The employee shall be responsible for tracking the time used to provide care for the new family member.
4. For circumstances related to military service, the employee must provide the Office of Human Resources with proof of deployment or other qualifying event.
   1. The employee, the employee’s supervisor and the Executive Director shall meet to reach a reasonable agreement about the accommodations to be made for the employee in support of a family member’s military service.
   2. If the employee is requesting FMLA related to military service and the accommodation is to care for the service member or the parents of a service member, the Executive Director may require reasonable documentation of the need for such care.

Please see forms linked under Policy 4-15 in Section 4 to begin the FMLA process with the Office of Human Resources.

Contact:

Updated:        1/11/18

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