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Human Resources » Benefits Information
Center » Leaves Of Absence
General
Information
NWHSU
recognizes that employees may need time off from their job
for various reasons. Some of these leaves include:
The leaves
may have varying effects on benefits. In certain situations,
employees will be expected to use all remaining PTO
before a leave of absence and/or arrange for continuation
of insurance benefits.
The University
will provide employees with any leave of absence required
by law, in accordance with provisions of the law. Any other
request for leaves of absence, not legally required, will
be reviewed against overall business needs and the University's
ability to replace the employee during their absence. These
leaves will be approved on a case-by-case basis at the sole
discretion of the University.
For any
leave of absence, an employee must request approval from their
supervisor as far in advance as possible. Failure to return
from a leave will be considered a voluntary resignation.
FAQs
Q: What type
of leave of absence does NWHSU provide for employees with
less than one (1) year of service?
A: Employees
with at least six (6) months of regular full time or part
time service require time off for a personal
medical issue, pregnancy, or to care for a family member,
they may be eligible for a personal leave. Requests for personal
leave will be evaluated by your department manager. This is
a COBRA
qualifying event. All PTO
and Sick
Leave Only, if applicable, must be used before
the leave begins.
Q: What type
of leave of absence does NWHSU provide for employees with
one (1) year of more of service (minimum of 1,040 (MN State
Law) hours worked in the past twelve (12) months)?
A: If the employee
is requesting a leave for surgery, pregnancy, adoption, to
care for a family member or for a serious medical issue,
they may be eligible for a FMLA
(Family Medical Leave Act). Employees may be eligible
for short
term disability
through NWHSU as well as continuation of their benefits.
Employees are eligible for up to twelve (12) weeks of FMLA.
Q: How do I
request a Leave of Absence?
A: You will
need to notify your manager of your request for
leave of absence thirty (30) days prior to your leave by completing
a Time
Off Request
form. Your manager will need to
fill out an "Employee
Status Change" form and submit
it to Lisa
Franczak @ Human
Resources
prior to your actual leave date. Human Resources will send
the employee information regarding the type of leave they
are eligible for along with information regarding pay and
benefits. The employee will need to notify their
manager and/or Human Resources if their leave dates change.
The employee MUST submit a "Return
to Work" slip from their doctor
on the date of their return.
Family
Medical Leave (FML)
Regular
employees who have completed at least twelve (12) months
of service and worked at least 1,250 hours during the twelve
(12) consecutive months preceding the date the leave is scheduled
to begin are eligible for a Family and Medical Leave (FMLA)
as provided by law. A leave of absence, which is foreseeable
ordinarily requires thirty (30) days' notice. Employees who
qualify for disability, worker's comp, etc. are required
to use such leaves concurrently with FMLA.
The
leave is unpaid; however, employees may use any available
PTO hours as part of the twelve (12) week entitlement
to leave under this policy. PTO will not accrue during an
employee's FMLA leave. In cases of the employees' own serious
health condition, short
term disability benefits may be available. Under
a FMLA leave, an employee may take up to twelve (12) workweeks
of family and/or medical leave during a rolling twelve (12)-month
period. The rolling twelve (12)-month period is calculated
from the date the leave begins.
This
leave of absence is available for any of the following purposes:
- For the birth and care of a son or daughter
or for the placement of a son or daughter with the employee
for adoption or foster care. Such leave must conclude within
twelve (12) months of the birth or placement;
- To care for the spouse, son, daughter, or
parent of the employee because of a serious health condition;
- Because of the employee's own serious health
condition which makes him/her unable to perform the essential
functions of their job.
When
the requested leave is for a serious health condition of
the employee or the employee's spouse, child or parent, a
physician's statement will be required. An employee may continue
participating in the group insurance plans while on a FMLA
leave by continuing to pay his/her share of the premiums.
If the employee does not return to work at the end of the
leave, NWHSU will consider it a voluntary resignation and
the COBRA
notice will be activated.
If
an employee returns from a FMLA leave during or at the end
of the twelve (12) work week period, he or she will be reinstated
to the same or a comparable position. The employee will be
required to present a fitness-for-duty certificate prior
to being restored to employment.
Employees
should contact Human
Resources to discuss any need for a FMLA leave.
Parental
Leave
Minnesota employees who have
been employed at the University for at least one (1) year
and who work an average of at least half time (20 hours)
each week may request an unpaid Parental Leave in conjunction
with the birth or adoption of a child.
Employees
requesting such leave should give reasonable written notice
to Human Resources and may continue all group insurance during the leave
by paying the necessary premiums. Any time taken for Parental
Leave will be in conjunction with Family
Medical Leave. Up to a maximum of six (6) weeks
may be taken under Parental Leave.
Employees
requesting a Parental Leave will retain the accrued benefits
they had prior to the leave. The University will make every
reasonable effort to return the employee to the same or a
comparable position and pay. If the leave is more than one
(1) month, the University requests at least two (2) weeks'
notice prior to returning to work.
Employees
should contact Human Resources to discuss any need they may
have for a Parental Leave.
Personal
Leave
The University understands that
employees may need time off for personal obligations and
may provide employees unpaid time off in these situations.
Approval of a personal leave of absence is contingent on
the ability of the department to accommodate the absence.
Upon
submitting a timely written request, a personal leave of
absence without pay may be granted by the employee's department
head. This request should be at least two (2) weeks prior
to the start of such leave - unless a medical necessity does
not permit it. If the leave is for a medical reason, a physician's
certification is required. The employee must have been employed
with the University for a least six (6) months in a regular
full time or regular part time position (budgeted for 20
or more hours a week) to qualify for a Personal Leave.
The
length of time for Personal Leaves will be evaluated and
approved by management. Anticipated workload requirements
and staffing considerations, etc. must be considered. In
any event, Personal Leaves can not be more than a maximum
of ninety (90) days.
All
available paid leave time and PTO must be used before an employee's personal leave can
begin. PTO will not accrue while an employee is on leave.
Employees
may continue their health,
dental and life insurance by paying 100% of the premiums plus a 2%
administrative fee when their leave begins. Employees who
return to work from a Personal Leave on or by the 10 th of
the month need not pay COBRA premiums that month. When the employee returns from
a Personal Leave, benefits will again be provided by the University
according to the applicable plan(s).
When
a Personal Leave ends, NWHSU will make every reasonable effort
to return the employee to the same or a similar position
for which the employee is qualified. However, such assignments
cannot be guaranteed.
If
an employee fails to report to work promptly after the approved
leave has expired, NWHSU will assume the employee has resigned
effective the date the leave commenced.
Employees should contact Human
Resources for more details.
School
Conference & Activity Leave
Minnesota employers meeting
certain requirements may grant unpaid leave
up to sixteen (16) hours during any twelve (12) month calendar
period to enable a parent to attend a child's special education,
pre-school, school conference, or school-related activities
if those conferences or activities cannot be scheduled
during non-work hours. Employees are eligible for this
leave if they have worked for the University on at least
a half-time basis for the twelve (12) months preceding
the request. Employees are required to notify their supervisor
as soon as dates become known.
Bereavement
Leave
General
Information
Regular full time and regular
part time employees (budgeted for 20 or more hours a week)
may be eligible to receive paid bereavement leave immediately
upon date of hire according to the following list:
- Up to three (3) days of paid
bereavement leave in the event of a death in their immediate
family. Immediate family is defined as spouse, domestic
partner, parents, step-parents, child, step-child, brother,
sister, guardian, grandparents, grandchildren, great-grandparents,
great-grandchildren, current mother/father-in-law, brother/sister-in-law,
son/daughter-in-law, step-brother/sister.
- Additional working days,
not to exceed two (2) may be granted where circumstances
require travel out of the surrounding area (200 miles) or
it is demonstrated that an earlier return would cause a
hardship for the employee.
- One (1) day of paid bereavement
leave in the event of a death of an extended family member
or friend (up to a maximum of five (5) work days per year).
- Employees should use PTO to cover other bereavement absences not listed above.
Bereavement
pay will be calculated on the basis of eight (8) hours at
the regular full time employee's regular rate of pay. Regular
part time employees who are eligible will receive pro-rated
pay. These hours count as hours worked for overtime purposes. Employees are expected to notify their supervisor
immediately if they will be absent from work and need to take
bereavement leave.
FAQs
Q: Do we have
bereavement leave?
A:
Yes, regular employees may be granted up to three days of
paid leave upon the death of a family member or friend.
Please notify your supervisors as soon as possible
to make arrangements for bereavement leave.
Bone
Marrow Leave
Employees
who work an average of twenty (20) hours per week can receive
up to forty (40) hours of paid leave to undergo a medical
procedure to donate bone marrow. Verification by a physician
for the purpose and length of the leave may be required.
Jury
Duty & Witness Leave
General
Information
Employees
are eligible for jury duty leave for the time they serve
on a jury. They are expected to provide their supervisor
and the Human Resources
Department with a copy of the jury duty summons
at least one (1) week in advance. These employees will be
paid their regular earnings up to a maximum of forty (40)
hours per week. The jury duty benefit is paid for a maximum
of two (2) weeks in any calendar year. Employees are expected
to return to work any time they are released from jury duty
during their regularly scheduled work hours.
Jury
duty will count as hours worked for overtime purposes. PTO accruals will be suspended during unpaid jury duty
and resume upon the employee's return to work.
Employees who are subpoenaed
to appear in court as a witness for the University in a case
involving NWHSU will be paid for the time he/she is normally
scheduled to work. Should an employee be subpoenaed to appear
in court as a witness on his/her own behalf, he/she must take
PTO according to the policy guidelines.
FAQs
Q: What happens
if I am sequestered for jury or witness duty? Am I still paid?
A:
If you have been summoned or subpoenaed to appear in court,
you will be placed on a temporary paid leave of absence
while you fulfill your civic duty. This does NOT apply
when you have to appear in court on your behalf. You
will receive your regular pay and benefits while on jury
duty.
Military
Leave
The University complies with
all applicable federal and state laws relating to military
leave. Military Duty Leave applies to regular full time and
regular part time employees who are members of the uniformed
services (Armed Forces and the Army National Guard and Air
National Guard).
Employees subject to these obligations
will be expected to notify Human
Resources in writing as far in advance of the
training period as possible. Members of the military, who
are required to report for duty, will be granted an unpaid
leave of absence for the duration of their duty and training.
When they are again available for work, the University will
make an effort to return them to their former position, or
a comparable position, in accordance with requirements of
the law.
Should
an approved military leave exceed thirty (30) days, the employee
and applicable dependents will become eligible for 24 months
of continued health
care insurance under USERRA and would pay the
full premium for such coverage during this time.
Employees
should contact Human Resources for more details regarding
military leave.
Time
Off To Vote Leave
The University believes that
each employee should have the opportunity to exercise
his/her right to vote in a general election. Since the
polls are open extended hours, in most instances, employees
will be able to vote before or after work. However, if
an employee's work schedule does not provide him/her with
time to vote during non-working hours, he/she will be
granted reasonable time off during the morning of the
election to vote during work hours according to legal
requirements. The University asks that the employee notify
his/her supervisor in advance if he/she anticipates a
need to take time off work to vote.
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