Methodist Hospital

METHODIST HOSPITAL

BOOK: MAPPS - ORGANIZATIONAL

POLICY NUMBER: 310.010

FUNCTION: HUMAN RESOURCES

PAGE: 1 OF 15

SUBJECT:LEAVE OF ABSENCE

POLICY:Methodist Hospital provides a means for employees to be absent from work for extended periods of time due to medical, family care, military or compelling personal reasons, while retaining their employment. Leaves of Absence will be granted on the assumption that the employee will be available to return to regular employment when conditions necessitating leave permit.

PROCEDURE:

1.Leaves of Absence will be granted for family and medical care, pregnancy, work-related disability, military service, or other reasons in accordance with applicable law. Leaves for other non-medical or personal reasons, not required by law, may be granted to employees with at least 12 months of continuous service, at the sole discretion of management with consideration of all relevant factors, including prevailing staffing and operational requirements, the employee's work and attendance record, other business conditions, and the employee's intent to return to work. Leaves of Absence, including extensions, may also be initiated by management based on employee health and safety concerns or staffing and coverage considerations.

2.It is the employee's responsibility to obtain authorization for both the start and return from a Leave of Absence, for requesting any extensions that are considered necessary, and for making all arrangements for the continuation of benefit plan coverage with the Human Resources Department.

a.An employee who fails to provide the above information or to return to work on the first scheduled work day following a Leave of Absence will be considered to have voluntarily resigned, in accordance with applicable law. Employees taking other employment during a Leave of Absence will be considered to have quit without notice as of the original date the leave was granted in accordance with applicable law.

b.All Leaves of Absence requests must be submitted on the appropriate Leave of Absence Form with documentation attached as required. This request form is required immediately upon notification from an employee of any absence anticipated to be longer than seven calendar days. Requests must be submitted to the supervisor a minimum of two weeks before the anticipated starting date of the leave, unless longer or shorter periods of time are required or permitted by applicable leave law. In the event of an emergency precluding timely submission, the employee must immediately contact his/her supervisor. If an employee is absent for more than two working days without notifying his/her supervisor, the employee will be considered to have voluntarily resigned.

3.As soon as an employee is placed on LOA or returns to work from such status, it will be the Department Manager's responsibility to initiate a Personnel Action Form and forward it to Human Resources.

4.Whenever practical, Leaves of Absence are granted for a specified period of time and staffing is adjusted to accommodate the temporary absence of the employee on leave.

a.Except as addressed in the Family and Medical Leave and Pregnancy Disability Leave portions of this policy or as otherwise required by law, the granting of a leave does not guarantee that an employee's position, shift, or schedule will be held open for the duration of the leave or that reinstatement of active employment will be immediately available when the employee is ready to return. An employee returning from Leave of Absence must notify his/her manager at least two weeks prior to the date of return, or as soon thereafter as practicable, to allow ample time for schedule adjustments.

b.Where not otherwise required by applicable law, the employee may be considered for any vacancy that is generally comparable in status and pay for which the employee is qualified, regardless of shift or schedule changes. An employee's declination of an offer of reinstatement to any generally comparable job will be considered a voluntary resignation in accordance with applicable law.

c. If an employee on a medical leave is not released to return to work after the agree-upon leave time has been exhausted or the employee has been released and there is no suitable vacant position for which the employee is qualified, managers/supervisors must consult with Human Resources and not take any personnel actions with regard to the employee without such consultation. Managers/supervisors must also consult with Human Resources when other non-medical types of leaves have been exhausted and the employee is ready to return to work or fails to return for any reason.

5.Initiating a Leave: A Leave of Absence will begin on the first day absent from work for reasons other than scheduled vacation or holiday time.

a.All leaves of absence will be without pay. PTO and XSL hours will be utilized for those employees who accrue these benefits. These payments will be integrated with any statutory benefits to which the employee is entitled.

6.The effect of a Leave of Absence on benefits is as follows:

a.PTO and XSL CREDITS: Accrual stops during LOA and resumes immediately upon return to a benefit eligible status.

b.BENEFIT DATE: Except as addressed in the Family and Medical Leave and Pregnancy Disability Leave portions of this policy or as otherwise required by applicable law, the employee's benefit date will be adjusted by the number of calendar days of absence for LOA's of thirty calendar days or longer. See Benefit Date Policy #300.010.

7.Insurance Benefits: Insurance benefits may be continued in force for the duration of the Leave of Absence but not to exceed twelve months. Except as noted under the Family and Medical Leave and Pregnancy Disability Leave provisions, Workers Compensation Leaves, or otherwise required by law, the employee must continue to pay dependent premiums and assumes payment of his/her own premiums (normally paid by the Hospital) for each full month of absence following the beginning of the Leave of Absence.

a.Premium cost information is available from the Human Resources Department. The employee is responsible for making advance arrangements to pay the applicable premiums in order to maintain coverage.

b.Premium payments must be received no later than the first of the month for which coverage is to be continued. Failure to pay premiums by the deadline date will result in immediate cancellation of coverage.

c.When Hospital-subsidized insurance is no longer available due to the termination of the leave or employment termination, the employee may continue coverage in the group medical (includes prescription & vision) and dental plans by paying full cost of the benefits, provided the employee has no other coverage. The employee will be notified by Human Resources of the Continuation coverage provisions (COBRA).

8.Seniority: Leaves of Absence do not affect an employee's seniority date, as measured from the date of hire. However, no salary increase or promotions, transfers, or other such employment status change will be effective until the employee returns to work following the leave. Except as noted in the Family and Medical Leave and Pregnancy Disability Leave provisions, or as otherwise required by applicable law, the employee's performance appraisal and salary review date will be adjusted by the number of calendar days the employee is absent from work over thirty days.

Following are provisions related to specific types of Leaves of Absence:

9.FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE: An employee may take leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) for reasons that are specified in those laws. An employee is eligible for FMLA/CFRA covered leave if the employee has worked for Methodist Hospital for at least 12 months and for at least 1,250 hours during the twelve-month period immediately preceding the day the leave is to begin, and who works at a site with at least 50 employees within a 75 mile radius. The twelve-month period is defined as the twelve-month period immediately preceding the beginning of any FMLA/CFRA leave.

a.Qualifying Reasons for leave under FMLA/CFRA: Eligible employees may be entitled to unpaid FML for the following reasons:

(1)For the birth of a child and to care for the newborn child;

(2)For the placement with the employee of a child for adoption or foster care and to care for the newly-placed child;

(3)To care for the employee's spouse (registered domestic partners are treated the same as spouses under CFRA), son, daughter or parent (not in-law) with a serious health condition;

(4)For the employee's own serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the functions of his/her job;

(5)To address certain qualifying exigencies arising out of the fact that the employee’s spouse, child, or parent is a covered military member on active duty (or has been notified of an impending call or order to active duty) in support of a contingency operation; or

(6)To care for a covered servicemember with a serious injury or illness if the employee is the spouse, child, parent, or next of kin of the covered servicemember (applies to FMLA only, not CFRA).

b.A "serious health condition," as used in Qualifying Reasons Nos. a.(3) and a.(4) above, is an injury, illness, impairment or physical or mental condition that involves either an overnight stay in a medical care facility, or continuing treatment by a health care provider for a condition that either prevents the employee from performing the functions of the employee’s job, or prevents the qualified family member from participating in school or other daily activities. Subject to certain conditions, the continuing treatment requirement may be met by a period of incapacity of more than 3 consecutive calendar days combined with at least two visits to a health care provider or one visit and a regimen of continuing treatment, or incapacity due to pregnancy (pregnancy incapacity applies to FMLA only, not CFRA), or incapacity due to a chronic condition. Other conditions may also meet the definition of continuing treatment.

c. “Qualifying exigencies,” under Qualifying Reason No. a.(5) above, may include attending certain military events, arranging for alternative childcare, addressing certain financial and legal arrangements, attending certain counseling sessions, and attending certain post deployment reintegration briefings.

(1)A “covered military member,” under Qualifying Reason No. a.(5), includes members of the Reserves and National Guard but does not include members of the Regular Armed Forces.

d. “Covered servicemember,” under Qualifying Reason No. a.(6) above, is a current member of the Armed Services, including a member of the National Guard or Reserves, who has a serious injury or illness incurred in the line of duty on active duty that may render the servicemember medically unfit to perform his or her duties for which the servicemember is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy, or is in outpatient status; or is on the temporary disability retired list.

e.Amount of Leave:

12 Weeks Unpaid leave: For Qualifying Reasons Nos. a.(1) – a.(4) listed above, an employee who has met the eligibility requirements for FMLA/CFRA leave as described above, is entitled to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave within a 12-month period preceding the day the leave is to begin. The 12-month period during which the 12 weeks of leave may be taken is measured rolling backward from any time the employee uses the leave. A new rolling backward 12-month period begins each time leave is initiated. 12 weeks of unpaid leave may be taken for Qualifying Reason No. a.(5) above, listed above, under the FMLA but not under CFRA.

26 Weeks Unpaid Leave: For Qualifying Reason No. a. (6), listed above, an employee who has met the eligibility requirements for FMLA leave is entitled to take a maximum of 26 weeks of unpaid leave within a single 12-month period measured forward from the date the leave is to begin (applies to FMLA only, not CFRA). Leave taken for Qualifying Reason No. a.(6) and for any other covered reason (Qualifying Reasons Nos. 1-5) during this single 12-month period shall not exceed a combined total of 26 weeks (that means an employee cannot take a 26 week leave for Qualifying Reason No. a.(6) and then take additional FMLA leave for Qualifying Reasons Nos. a.(1), a.(2), a.(3), a.(4), or a.(5)).

f.Timing: Leaves for Qualifying Reasons Nos. a.(1) or a.(2) must be completed within the 12-month period beginning on the date of birth, adoption, or placement. If a husband and wife (or under CFRA, both “parents,” even if unmarried) are both employed by Methodist Hospital, they can together take only a combined total of twelve weeks of FMLA/CFRA leave within the twelve-month period for any birth, placement or to care for a seriously ill parent. Any such leave taken by each employee shall be charged against that employee's twelve weeks of FMLA/CFRA for other covered reasons, including for the employee’s own serious health condition or to care for a child or spouse with a serious health condition. Under the FMLA, not CFRA, this same limitation applies if both spouses are employed by the Hospital and need to take a leave to care for a parent with a serious health condition.

g.Leave Runs Concurrently: FMLA and CFRA leave run concurrently with one another when both are applicable to the type of leave taken. FMLA/CFRA will run concurrently with Workers’ Compensation leave taken by an employee for a work-related injury when the injury qualifies as a “serious health condition.” Pregnancy disability is a “serious health condition” under the FMLA. Therefore, FMLA leave taken for pregnancy related reasons and a Pregnancy Disability leave (PDL) will also run concurrently. Pregnancy disability is not covered by CFRA. Therefore, a pregnancy disability FMLA leave and PDL will not run concurrently with CFRA. (See the PDL section of this policy, below, for more information.)

h.Employee Notice Requirements for FMLA/CFRA Leave: If FMLA or CFRA leave (if applicable) for Qualifying Reasons Nos. a.(1), a.(2), a.(3), a.(4), or a.(6), above, is foreseeable, the employee must give the Hospital at least 30 days prior notice. If this is not possible, notice must be given as soon as is possible and practicable. Employees requesting FMLA/CFRA must complete the Leave of Absence Request Form and submit it to their immediate supervisor not less than thirty days prior to the requested leave date, or as soon thereafter as is possible and practicable, for Qualifying Reasons Nos. a.(1) – a.(4), and a.(6). If FMLA leave for Qualifying Reason No. a.(5) is foreseeable, the employee must provide as much advance notice as is reasonable and practicable and complete the Leave of Absence Request Form. Failure to provide such notice may be grounds for delay of leave. The employee is required to comply with the Hospital’s normal call-in and notification procedures.

In general, if the Hospital has information which would lead it to believe that the employee needs a leave for his/her own serious health condition, then the Hospital will grant the leave pending the employee’s submitting the completed leave forms and the required medical certification (as explained below).

i.Employer Notice Requirements:

(1)General Notice: The Hospital posts the FMLA/CFRA poster/notices and provides FMLA/CFRA notice in its Employee Handbook, and otherwise makes the notice available to employees.

(2)Eligibility Notice and a Rights and Responsibilities Notice: Within 5 business days, after the Hospital receives a request for FMLA/CFRA covered leave, the Hospital will (a) notify the employee if he/she is eligible for FMLA/CFRA leave and (b) will provide the employee with any additional information that is required as well as what are the employee’s rights and responsibilities.

(3)Designation Notice and Fitness for Duty Requirements: Within 5 business days after the Hospital has enough information to determine how the leave will be designated, the Hospital will notify the employee if the leave will be designated as FMLA/CFRA leave, the amount of leave that will be counted against the employee’s leave entitlement (if known), and that a fitness-for–duty certification will be required before the employee may return to work. For that purpose, the Hospital may provide the employee with a job description with the essential job functions of the employee’s position. If the employee is not eligible for FMLA/CFRA covered leave, the Hospital will notify the employee and provide him/her with a reason for the ineligibility.

j.FMLA/CFRA is generally unpaid. However, the Hospital requires eligible employees to use any accrued PTO time during the with FMLA/CFRA leave. In addition, accrued XSL must be used for leave related to the employee's own serious health condition (Qualifying Reason No. a.(4), above). Any accrued PTO/XSL which is approved for use will be charged against (applied to) an employee's FMLA/CFRA entitlement.

k.Accrued PTO/XSL benefits are integrated with State Disability Insurance while an employee is on FMLA/CFRA or Pregnancy Disability Leave, subject to the provisions of the PTO Policy #310.008.

l.Methodist Hospital requires an employee seeking FMLA/CFRA leave for any medical purpose (Qualifying Reasons Nos. a.(3), a.(4), and a.(6), above) to submit medical documentation on the Certification of Physician or Practitioner Form WH-380 or WH-385 in the following situations: