A4200.35 Unpaid Leave of Absence

Statement

Leave of Absence

An employee with at least six (6) months of service can request from Human Resources an unpaid leave for up to six (6) weeks for a qualifying medical situation which would otherwise meet guidelines of FMLA if only had enough time in position.   This leave can only be granted if business demands allow and all vacation and sick/personal time have been exhausted.  Insurance deductions would remain a responsibility of the employee.

Effective January 1, 2015, P.A. 98-1050 creates additional protections for pregnant employees.

Leave of Absence

A leave of absence without pay for a period not to exceed one (1) year may be granted to exempt employees with at least three (3) years of consecutive full-time employment with Shawnee College for reasons which are deemed acceptable by the College Board.  Such leaves may be granted for travel, professional study, parenting, or other personal reasons.

Revised:  July 2016

Family and Medical Leave

Each employee with at least one year of service at Shawnee Community College that worked a minimum of 1,250 hours over the previous 12 months will be eligible to take up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave a fiscal year for certain family and medical reasons.  Spouses employed by the same employer are jointly entitled to a combined and total of 12 workweeks.  Written application for such leave shall be made 30 days in advance when foreseeable or as soon as practicable.

Family and medical leave for the purpose of this section, shall include the care of the employee’s child (birth or placement for adoption or foster care), the care of the employee’s spouse, civil union partner, son, daughter, or parent who has a serious health condition, or for a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the job.  Family and medical leave also includes leave for certain qualifying events arising out of a covered military member’s active-duty status, or notification of an impending call or order to active-duty status, in support of a contingency operation and shall also apply to a situation when an employee is caring for a covered service member recovering from a serious injury or illness incurred in the line of duty on active duty.

The 12 workweeks allowed hereunder shall be extended to up to 26 weeks of leave in a single 12-month period when an employee is caring for a covered service member recovering from a serious injury or illness incurred in the line of duty on active duty.   Eligible employees are entitled to a combined total of up to 26 weeks of all types of FMLA leave during the single 12-month period. The Board and Administration reserve the right to require medical certification to support a request of leave because of a serious health condition.

Subject to certain conditions, employees or employers may choose to use or require the use of accrued paid leave (such as sick or vacation leave) to cover some or all of the otherwise unpaid FMLA leave.  The employee on family and medical leave will be entitled to medical benefits as though the employee was still on the job.  The employee is to make the usual payment for the employee shared benefits while on family and medical leave.

The board and administration will follow all other provisions of the Family and Medical Leave Act as are adopted and which are considered current law.   It shall be the responsibility of the employee seeking FMLA leave to know of such requirements and to speak with administration regarding any additional requirements under the law before exercising or requesting FMLA leave.

Revised:  December 2009, July 2016