The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 provides university employees up to twelve (12) weeks of unpaid leave for the birth or placement of a child for adoption or foster care, or to care for a child, spouse or parent due to a serious illness or injury, or if the employee is unable to perform the functions of his or her position due to a serious health condition. The university's policy is intended to be consistent with the requirements of the Family and Medical Leave Act and is subject to change according to court opinions interpreting that law.

All full-time and part-time faculty, administrative/professional and hourly staff employees who have been employed for at least one year, and for a minimum of 1,250 hours over the previous twelve months.

A family and/or medical leave of absence is defined as an approved absence available to eligible employees for up to twelve weeks of unpaid leave per 12 month period, under particular circumstances that are critical to the life of a family. The 12 month period starts at the commencement of the first approved leave taken by the employee. No more than twelve weeks leave may be taken in any 12 month period under this policy.

Under the Family and Medical Leave Act, leave may be taken for the following reasons:

• upon the birth of the employee's child;

• upon the placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care;

• when the employee is needed to care for a child, spouse, or parent who has a serious health condition (note that the Family Medical Leave Act and this policy do not cover the parent of an employee's spouse);

• when the employee is unable to perform the functions of his or her position because of a serious health condition.

NOTE: Leave may be taken for these or other reasons not covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act but such leaves are subject to other university policies (i.e., Court Leave/Jury Duty).

For short absences (generally for periods of time less than three days) for medical conditions of either the employee or eligible family member, unused sick leave pay, accumulated vacation or floating holiday must be used.

If an employee is entitled to paid leave under another benefit plan (i.e., sick leave pay, vacation, long-term disability benefits, etc.), the employee must take the paid leave first. For example, sick leave pay may be used for the length of the medical necessity (as defined by a physician) for the employee's illness or injury or when the employee is needed to care for a child, spouse, or parent due to illness or injury. If the employee uses all of his or her accrued sick time, the employee must use his or her unused vacation benefits. Any time remaining in the leave, after sick leave pay and vacation benefits have been exhausted, will be without pay. In the case of leave due to an employee's extended illness or injury, the employee may be entitled to long-term disability benefits.

Upon returning to work from the approved leave, the employee will be restored to his or her original position. Exceptions to being restored to his or her original position must have the approval of Personnel Services and the appropriate Vice President and/or President where applicable and may result in the employee's being assigned to a position equivalent in pay, benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment.

1. The employee should inform their supervisor that they are initiating a Family Medical Leave through Personnel Services. For faculty members, the Office of Personnel Services will coordinate approval with the Office of the Provost.

2. Personnel Services will coordinate the approval of the leave with the Dean or Director.

3. When the need for leave is foreseeable, such as the birth or adoption of a child, or planned medical treatment, the employee must provide reasonable prior notice (thirty (30) days in advance of the effective date of leave, if possible) and make efforts to schedule leave so as not to disrupt university operations.

4. Documentation of reason for leave and time taken will be placed in the employee's personnel file.

BIRTH OR PLACEMENT OF A CHILD:

5. In the event of the birth or placement of a child for adoption or foster care, the leave must be taken within one (1) year of the birth or placement of a child.

6. Leave may be taken on an intermittent or reduced basis for the birth or adoption of a child, if the arrangement is agreed to by the supervisor, Dean or Director and the Director of Personnel Services.
   

MEDICAL LEAVE:

7. All requests for family and medical leaves of absence due to illness must include the following information attached to a completed Request for Leave of Absence Form:

• Sufficient medical certification stating:

1. the date on which the leave is to commence,
2. the approximate date of return,
3. the appropriate medical facts within the knowledge of the health care provider regarding the condition and
4. if the leave is for the employee's illness, that the employee is unable to perform the functions of his or her position.

• In addition, for purposes of leave to care for a child, spouse, or parent, the certificate should give an estimate of the amount of time that the employee is needed to provide such care.
• In the case of certification for intermittent leave or leave on a reduced leave schedule for planned medical treatment, the dates on which such treatment is expected to be given and the duration of such treatment must be stated.

8. The university may require a second medical opinion and periodic re-certifications which will be at the university's expense.

9. If the first (provided by the employee's physician) and second (obtained by the university) medical opinions differ, the university, at its own expense, may require the binding opinion of a third health care provider, approved jointly by the university and the employee.

10. If medically necessary for a serious health condition of the employee or his or her spouse, child or parent, leave may be  taken on an intermittent or reduced leave schedule. If leave is required on this basis, however, the university may require the employee to transfer temporarily to an alternative position which better accommodates recurring periods of absence or a part-time schedule, provided that the position has equivalent pay and benefits. Intermittent or reduced time will count toward the twelve week maximum as allowed by the Family and Medical Leave Policy as follows:

• An employee's FTE (full time equivalence) will be determined from official university records maintained in the Office of Personnel Services. In cases involving hourly staff employees where questions arise regarding the individual's FTE, actual hours worked for the preceding twelve months will be the final determination as to a person's FTE.

• The employee shall submit an intermittent work schedule to his or her Dean or Director for approval. Should agreement not be reached by the Dean or Director and the employee regarding a reduced work schedule, such questions will be submitted to the Office of Personnel Services for resolution.

• The amount of time credited to count toward the twelve week maximum is determined by subtracting the actual hours worked per week from the normal or expected hours worked (FTE) and the difference is the amount of time credited.

11. For the employee working a reduced schedule, the leave time must be charged to accrued sick leave or vacation.

12. Spouses who are both employed by the university are entitled to a combined total of twelve weeks of leave (rather than twelve weeks each) for the birth or placement for adoption or foster care of a child or for the care of a sick parent (but not a parent-in-law). This limitation does not apply to leave taken by either spouse to care for the other, to care for a child with a serious health condition or for his or her own serious illness.

13. Any full-time employee who is granted an approved leave of absence under this policy is advised to provide for the retention of his or her group insurance coverage by arranging to pay the normal employee premium contributions during the period of unpaid absence.

14. Benefit entitlements based upon length of service will be calculated as of the last paid work day before the start of the unpaid leave of absence (i.e., vacation and sick leave pay do not accrue when the employee is on an unpaid leave of absence).

15. Exception: If the employee on leave is an exempt employee and is among the highest paid 10% of university employees, restoration of employment may be denied if such restoration would result in substantial and grievous economic injury to the operations of the university. In this situation, the university would notify the employee of the need to deny job reinstatement as soon as the economic impact is known. The employee has the option to return to work (within a reasonable period of time after receiving the notice) and still have job reinstatement. In any event, an employee who is denied job restoration or who does not return after such notification could still be entitled to 12 weeks of unpaid leave and health care continuation.

16. In cases of illness, the employee will be required to report to his or her Dean or Director and the Office of Personnel Services periodically on his or her leave status and intention to return to work

17. As a condition of restoration of employment at the end of the leave (for the employee's own medical conditions), the university requires the employee to provide a physician's statement that the employee is able to resume his or her job responsibilities.

18. Even if the leave is a paid leave of absence, the period of time an employee is off from work will be counted toward the twelve-week maximum.

19. For extensions of family and medical leave, please refer to the Personal Leave Policy which may allow up to an additional 40 weeks of unpaid leave.

20. Injuries and illnesses that result from conditions in the workplace and are covered by Worker's Compensation may qualify employees for FMLA benefits.

21. The university may recover the premium paid by the university for maintaining an employee's health plan coverage during any period of unpaid leave if the employee fails to return to work upon the conclusion of the employee's approved leave of absence.

22. If at any time after injury, illness, or disease, it appears that the physical condition of the employee is permanent in nature and a physician's opinion is that the employee will never be able to perform the essential functions of his/her position with or without accommodation, the employee may be terminated
    

DETERMINATION OF PAID OR UNPAID LEAVE TIME (including time off beyond the 12 weeks allowed by the Family and Medical Leave Act)

The Family and Medical Leave Act requires that certain employers allow its employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for the reasons stated below. However, the university allows its employees who have accrued sick leave and/or vacation benefits to use these benefits to continue their pay during a family and medical leave.

Under the Family and Medical Leave Act, leave may be taken for the following reasons:

• upon the birth of the employee's child;
• upon the placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care;
• when the employee is needed to care for a child, spouse, or parent who has a serious health condition (note that the Family Medical Leave Act and this policy do not cover the parent of an employee's spouse);
• when the employee is unable to perform the functions of his or her position because of a serious health condition.

The following information describes the university's policy on how paid sick leave and vacation may be applied toward the family and medical leave time. In all cases, the use of paid leave will be obtained from the following sources in this order: a) accumulated, but unused sick leave, b) accumulated, but unused vacation, c) floating holiday, if available.

For child care leave (non-maternity): This leave is for the adoption or placement of a child or for additional leave time after the normal recovery from childbirth.

For medical leave (includes maternity):

For medical leave for a family member:

For questions regarding this policy, please contact the Office of Personnel Services.

The authority to grant exception to one or more of these policies and procedures is vested with the President of The University of Tulsa or his/her delegated representative(s).

Policy Effective Date: June 1, 1994