Section / Human Resources / Policy number / 3-M
Topic / Leave of Absence / Last Review Date / 06/23/16
CARF Standards / N/A / Last Revision Date / 03/08/16
Purpose / To ensure fairness through consistent application of rules related to leave of absence

Contracted staff

  1. Contracted staff may request a Leave of Absence (LOA) for any reason, up to 3 months by contacting the Program Manager in the office or offices in which they have worked
  2. Approved LOA: Approval of LOA requires that the staff have completed the following:
  3. Submission of LOA Request form to the Program Manager(s)
  4. Discharge or transfer of all open cases
  5. Correction of all items in his/her Correction Folder
  6. Completion of all items in his/her LE folder, if applicable
  7. Submission of all documentation for any outstanding services with billing log
  8. Unapproved LOA: If a contracted staff with open clients fails to turn in billing for 2 consecutive weeks and has not notified the office staff in advance of the reason for the absence, the following steps are taken:
  9. The Compliance Specialist notifies the Program Manager of a potential unapproved LOA.
  10. The Program Manager attempts to contact the staff by phone and email. The phone message and email include a deadline of 1 week for the staff to reply.
  11. If the staff replies and notifies the Program Manager that he/she is not active (i.e., no billable services currently being provided), the Program Manager explains the requirements for an approved LOA and sets a deadline for compliance.

1)If staff complies with LOA requirements, the Program Manager signs the LOA request and submits to the Human Resources Manager, who enters the staff’s LOA in the Staff Database.

2)If the staff fails to comply with LOA requirements, the staff is terminated with a status of Ineligible for Rehire.

  1. If staff fails to reply to the Program Manager’s attempts to reach him/her within 1 week, the Program Manager mails a certified letter to the staff. The letter contains a deadline of 1 week for the staff to reply.
  2. If the staff fails to respond to the certified letter before the deadline, the staff is terminated with a status of Ineligible for Rehire
  1. Two weeks prior to the end of an approved LOA period, the following steps are taken:
  2. The Program Manager contacts the staff to determine readiness to return to work.
  3. The staff completes any outstanding required trainings that were missed during the LOA.
  4. The Program Manager notifies the Referral Coordinator and Compliance Specialist of the staff’s return to work.
  5. When the staff turns in billing for the first time after the LOA, the Compliance Specialist notifies the Program Manager and Human Resources Manager of the date that the staff became active again. This date must occur within 3 months of start of LOA in order to avoid the re-hire process.
  6. If the staff is not ready to return to work after 3 months, the staff is terminated with a status of Eligible for Rehire.

Employees

  1. Employees may request a Leave of Absence (LOA), by submitting the LOA Request form to their immediate supervisor. Whenever possible, this should be submitted at least 2 weeks in advance of the start of the LOA. LOA may be approved based on the following:
  2. Situations that fall under the Family Medical Leave Act of 1993
  3. Situations that fall under FLA. STAT. § 741.313 related to domestic violence victims
  4. Other situations approved by the Executive Director
  5. The Family Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) is a federal law (Code of Federal Regulations 825, updated by the National Defense Authorization Act of 2008) that requires large employers (more than 50 employees) to allowjob protected, unpaid leave for up to 12 weeks per year for “Family Medical Leave” and “Military Family Leave.”Florida Statue 110.221 applies the same criteria to public (i.e. government) employers, which includes the following situations:
  6. Serious illness of the employee
  7. Serious illness of a member of the immediate family (i.e., spouse, minor child, developmentally or physically disabled adult child, parent)
  8. Injuryduring active duty in the military of an immediate family member (up to 26 weeks allowed)
  9. Family member’s military deployment resulting in increased responsibilities
  10. Maternity leave following the birth of a child
  11. Adoption or foster care placement of a new child
  12. To be eligible for a LOA, employees must meet the following criteria:
  13. Been employed at least 12 months by the agency
  14. Worked at least 1250 hours over the past 12 months
  15. Work for an agency that has 50 or more employees within 75 miles. Because Adapt does not have 50 employees, they are not mandated to comply with the regulations contained in this law, so LOA is approved on a discretionary basis.
  16. Consideration of LOA will be based on the following:
  17. Purpose of the requested leave
  18. Length of time requested
  19. Effect the LOA will have on the ability of the department or program to continue essential, timely functions
  20. Employee’s performance standing, including attendance
  21. During FMLA-qualified LOA, the following rules apply:
  22. Health insurance benefits continue throughout the LOA
  23. The agency is required to provide the same or equivalent (e.g., same pay, benefits, responsibility) position to the returning employee.
  24. Reinstatement of all benefits when employee returns to work
  25. Protection from retaliation by the agency for the LOA
  26. Florida Statute 741.313 requires employers to provide up to 3 days of job-protected, unpaid leave to employees who are victims of domestic violence for the following purposes:
  27. obtaining medical care
  28. taking safety measures
  29. attending court to obtain a protection order
  30. testifying in a criminal case

Human Resources – Leave of Absence