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Human Resources » Medical Leave

Medical Leave

Medical Leave Forms:  For ease and consistency, the District utilizes the Department of Labor Family Medical Leave Act form for consideration of all medical leaves.  These forms must be completed to request an extended leave of absence for an employee's or family member's serious medical condition. PDFs are available below. Employees must be approved by Human Resources to be on a covered medical leave.  Updated certifications may be required every 30 days - one year.  Employees must reapply for medical leave annually
FMLA Eligibility: Please note that not all employees are eligible for leave under the FMLA.  The use of the FMLA forms does not mean that your leave will be approved pursuant to the FMLA. To be eligible, you must be employed with the District for a period of 12 months and you must have worked 1,250 hours during the 12 months prior to the start of leave.  If you are not eligible under the FMLA, you may still be eligible for an approved medical leave based on your condition. 
 
Intermittent/Block Leave:  Depending on your circumstances, you may be approved for an intermittent (as needed) or block (one consecutive period) leave.  Some leaves of absence - such as due to the birth of a child or the adoption of a child must be taken in a block and are not eligible for intermittent leave. 
 
12 month basis:  Under the FMLA, leave is limited to 60 work days over a 12 month rolling basis.  Days may be limited for non-FMLA eligible leaves of absence. 
 
This information does not cover everything relevant to medical leaves of absence.  Please contact Elizabeth Jones at ext. 4001 with questions about the process.
 
 

Medical Leave – Absence Reporting

 

An employee will either be approved for a block leave – a continuous period of time where the employee will be absent, or intermittent leave – smaller increments of time in a few hour periods, or certain days, consistent with the medical certification provided by a physician.  Reporting and recording medical leave absences is mandatory and necessary for the efficient operation of payroll.  Tracking is required for all medical leaves of absence whether they are covered by FMLA or otherwise approved.  Having your leave coded as FMLA due to District procedures in the payroll system does not render you eligible for FMLA coverage if you do not meet the initial eligibility requirements. 

 

Employee Obligations to Report Absences: 

  • All appropriate time (sick, personal, etc.) must be used during a period of medical leave.  For example, if approved for leave due to a family member's serious medical condition, family illness days would be used first, then personal days, then vacation days, where applicable.   
  • CALL OUT: You must call out using regular call out procedures for your bargaining unit or employee group.   Approval from HR for FMLA leave does not remove your obligation to call out unless specifically advised that you do not need to continue call out procedures by HR.
  • If your employee classification calls out through ESS/Source4Teachers portal you must enter your absences in that manner. If you have a block leave – enter the full duration of the absence.  If you are calling out intermittently, you must report each individual absence or in block.
  • You must contact your building/department secretary who handles payroll and state to them whether your absence is under your FMLA leave. If you have a block leave, you should advise them it is for FMLA leave in when you initially report your absence.  If you have intermittent leave you must contact the payroll secretary every time you are absent due to FMLA leave.
  • The above process may require that you both input your absence in the ESS/Source4Teachers portal and contact your payroll secretary. You must do both. 
  • If you fail to report absences being used for FMLA it impacts accurate timekeeping and payroll procedures. Furthermore, it may result in discipline for violating call out procedures.
  • If your employee agreement dictates terms related to medical leave, those will be followed. 

Secretary Obligations to Record Absences:

  • When an employee that you are responsible for payroll reporting is out on a long or short term medical leave, you must continue to record their absences every day unless payroll or HR has advised you to stop.
  • Employees are required to report to you if they are out due to FMLA purposes. When this occurs, “FMLA Reported” should be included in their TCP notes for the day in question.
  • If you believe that an employee has been out under medical leave but have not received a call or email from them regarding the reason for their absences, please contact the employee if you are comfortable, or contact HR to reach out to them.
  • HR staff do not review all employee call outs to track those who are out for extended periods of time. Don’t assume that the employee has reached out to HR.  If you have an employee who has been out sick or out for other reasons frequently or for a continuous period of time, please notify HR. 
  • If you do not know if the employee has available time left, you still need to report the absences. Report the absence in the manner the employee reported it and then contact payroll to advise that you think they are out of time or are not sure of the type of day to put in.  As long as there is an absence reported, payroll and HR should be able to resolve issues of no-pay, etc.
  • When an employee’s absence is not reported for whatever reason it creates timekeeping and payroll discrepancies which create problems with employee pay. It is essential that absences be properly reported and that staff communicates with HR and/or payroll so that pay issues are avoided.  
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