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FAMILY FRIENDLY LEAVEInformation for Employees and SupervisorsA guide to your options for caring for yourself or family members The information in this document is a brief summary of leave policies that may assist families. For complete information, refer to the General Manual, Title 360 – Human ResourcesEmployees may now choose from an array of family friendly leave policies to meet their family and medical needs. For example, if an employee needs time off from work to accompany his or her child to a doctor’s appointment, the employee may use sick leave. If sick leave is not an available option, an employee may request leave without pay or, as available, annual leave, compensatory time off, or earned credit hours.Family Friendly Leave options available to employees include:Sick Leave for Family Care and Bereavement. Sick Leave Care for a Family Member with a Serious Health Condition Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993Use of Leave When Welcoming a ChildDefinitionsThe definition of family member covers a wide range of relationships, including:Spouse/Same Sex and Opposite Sex Domestic PartnersParents/Step Parents/ Parents in-law/Foster ParentsChildren/Grandchildren/Step Children/Foster ChildrenBrothers/SistersGrandparentsGuardianship relationshipsAny individual related by blood or affinity whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship.The definition of General Family care can include conditions such as: Common cold, flu, earaches, upset stomach, headaches (other than migraines), routine dental or orthodontia problems, other conditions that do not involve complications leading to serious health conditions. (May be required to provide medical certification) The definition of a Serious Health condition includes conditions such as cancer, heart attacks, strokes, severe injuries, Alzheimer’s disease, pregnancy, and, childbirth. (May be required to provide medical certification). The term serious health condition is not intended to cover short-term conditions for which treatment and recovery are very brief. Sick Leave for Family Care and Bereavement A full time employee may use up to 104 hours (13 days) of sick leave each calendar year at any time during their qualifying federal government service to:Provide care for a family member who is incapacitated as a result of physical or mental illness, injury, pregnancy or childbirth;Attend to a family member receiving medical, dental, or optical examination or treatment;Provide care for a family member who would (as determined by the health authorities having jurisdiction or a health care providers) jeopardize the health of others by that family member’s presence in the community because of exposure to communicable disease; orMake arrangements necessitated by the death of a family member or attend the funeral of a family member. A part time employee’s sick leave for family care and bereavement is based on their average number of hours worked each week plus the average number of sick leave hours earned during a year.An employee may be required to document his/her relationship to the family member.The employee must request sick leave with an OPM- 71 and have supervisor approval, and to the extent possible advanced approval for sick leave to care for a family member or to attend to a family member who is receiving medical, dental or optical examination or treatment, or for bereavement purposes. Employee may be required to provide acceptable evidence or medical certification in order to be granted advanced sick leave. Sick Leave to Care for a Family Member with a Serious Health Condition An employee may use up to 12 weeks (480 hours) of sick leave each leave year at any time in their qualifying federal service to provide care for a family member with a serious health condition, which includes 13 days (104 hours) of sick leave for general family care or bereavement purposes. An employee may be required to document his/her relationship to the family member.The employee must request sick leave with an OPM-71, and to the extent possible request advanced approval for sick leave to care for a family member with a serious health condition. Medical certification of the serious health condition will be required.At the discretion of the agency, up to 240 hours of sick leave may be advanced to an employee to provide care for a family member with a serious health condition.Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)Under the FMLA of 1993 federal employees who have one year or more of full time service or part-time service with at least 1250 hours within the past 12 months, may use a total of up to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period for the following family needs or medical conditions:Birth of an employee’s child and the care of such child (allowable time period is no later than 12 months after birth)Placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care (allowable time period is no later than 12 months after placement)Care of spouse, son, daughter or parent of the employee who has a serious health condition;* orSerious health condition of the employee that makes the employee unable to perform the essential functions of the position*.*For care of spouse, son, daughter or parent with a serious health condition or a serious health condition of the employee or the employees serious health condition, the use of FMLA may be taken continuously, intermittently, or as part of a reduced work schedule.? Intermittent leave or a reduced work schedule must receive prior approval from the employee’s supervisor.FMLA provides leave without pay for family and medical needs, but not paid leave. At the option of the employee, the employee can substitute FMLA leave without pay for:Annual Leave or advanced annual leaveSick leave (accrued or advanced)Leave from the voluntary leave transfer programCompensatory time or earned credit leaveUse of FMLA provides that an employee must be returned to the same position or to an “equivalent position with equivalent benefits, pay, and status and other terms and conditions of employment. Also, an employee who takes FMLA leave is entitled to maintain health benefits coverage while in an FMLA status. The employee may pay the employee share of the premiums on a current basis or pay upon return to work. Employees must request to use FMLA and complete the required application (WH-380-E for the employee themselves or WH-380-F for an employee’s family member) and provide medical documentation with a 30-day notice when foreseeable.Use of Leave When Welcoming a ChildAn employee must request and may use as much of their own accrued sick leave as needed for their own health upon advanced supervisor approval, or as soon as possible thereafter in the event of an emergency. Medical documentation may be required.An employee must request and receive advanced supervisor approval to use as much of their own accrued annual leave as needed. If an employee is out of earned leave they may be approved to take:Leave Without Pay (LWOP).Advanced sick leave (no more than 240 hours) may be granted.Advanced annual leave may be granted for the leave you will accrue for the remainder of the calendar year.Apply for the Voluntary Leave Transfer Program (for either yourself or for you to care for a family member).For adoption purposes the same options are available to an employee as the birth parents. An employee may use up to 12 weeks of accrued sick, annual leave or leave without pay to attend appointments, court proceedings, and to travel to pick up your adopted child.Sick LeaveAn employee is entitled to use accrued sick leave for medical appointments, hospitalization, and her period of incapacitation following childbirth. During the employee’s period of incapacitation following childbirth they will have to be under a doctor’s care and once the employee is released from the doctor’s care she can no longer use sick leave. An employee whose spouse is pregnant may use no more than 12 weeks of accrued sick leave each year to accompany the mother to prenatal appointments, to be with her during her period of hospitalization, and/or to care for her during her recovery in the event that she is incapacitated. The request for 12 weeks requires medical documentation and must be approved. Both parents may use up to 13 days of that 12 week period to care for a child with a minor illness or to accompany a child to a medical, dental, or optical appointment. An agency may request medical documentation of a child’s illness or treatment.Parents may not use sick leave to bond with or care for a healthy child.Annual LeaveA mother may use accrued annual leave for pregnancy and childbirth, a father may use accrued annual leave to care for the mother during pregnancy and childbirth, and both parents may use accrued annual leave to bond with or care for a healthy child.The use of annual leave is subject to the right of the supervisor to approve.Advance Annual and/or Sick LeaveAn agency may advance employees annual and/or sick leave for purposes related to childbirth.Advanced annual leave may be granted for the leave you will accrue for the remainder of the calendar year.Advanced sick leave (no more than 240 hours) may be granted to the mother during her period of incapacitation for pregnancy and childbirth or to care for a child who is ill. Advanced sick leave may also be granted to the father to care for the mother during her period of incapacitation for pregnancy and childbirth or to care for a child who is ill. Family Medical Leave Act Each parent is entitled to use a total of up to 12 weeks of leave without pay under the FMLA for the birth of a child and care of the newborn or placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care. An employee’s entitlement to FMLA leave expires 12 months following the date of birth of the child.FMLA requires medical documentation and must be approved.See the above section on FMLA for more explanation.Donated leave under the Voluntary Leave Transfer Program for Pregnancy and ChildbirthIf either the mother or father exhaust all of their paid leave, they may receive donated annual leave under the Voluntary Lave Transfer Program. This program allows the employee to receive annual leave from another employee to cover their needs while off work for a medical situation which includes pregnancy and childbirth. Donated annual leave may be used only for the mother’s period of incapacitation or the illness of the child, and may not be used to care for a healthy child.An employee should apply in writing to their supervisor to become a leave recipient with form OPM-630. If the supervisor concurs with this application then he/she will need to forward it on to the Human Resources Manager for approval. If the employee is not capable of making a written application, a personal representative may make the application on behalf of the employee. Once the application is approved the employee may receive donated annual leave from other employees.REFERENCES:OPM Family-Friendly Leave Policies and Forms ................
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