UPI Employee Handbook
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
For eligible employees, University Physicians, Inc. grants leaves of absence for the following reasons:
Medical Leaves
- Employee's serious health condition or pregnancy disability
Family Leaves
- Father's attendance at birth of child
- Parent's care of newborn, if completed within twelve (12) months following birth of child
- Placement of a child with employee for adoption or foster care
- Serious health condition of employee's child under 18 years, or older child if disabled
- Serious health condition of employee's spouse or parent
Military Family Leaves
- Eligible employees with a spouse, son, daughter, or parent on active duty may use their 12-week leave to address certain qualifying contingencies. Qualifying contingencies may include attending military events/briefings, arranging childcare and addressing financial and legal arrangements.
- Eligible employees may take up to 26 weeks of leave to care for a current member of the Armed Forces who has a serious injury or illness incurred in the line of duty. The service member may be rendered medically unfit to perform his or her duties and is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy; or is in outpatient status; or is on the temporary disability retired list.
To be eligible for family and/or medical leave (FMLA leave), an employee must be employed at least 12 months and have worked at least 1,250 hours during the 12 months preceding the commencement of Leave.
Whenever possible, you must notify the Human Resource Department at least 30 days prior to the leave, so UPI can arrange for the necessary approval and find someone to perform your work during your absence. Requests for leaves should be made in writing to the Human Resource Department, stating the reason for the leave, the starting date and the planned date for return to work. If the leave is foreseeable based on a planned medical leave the employee must make a reasonable effort to schedule treatment so not to unduly disrupt company operations. Appropriate certification for any leave is also required. The Organization may require a second medical opinion at the Organization’s expense. Documentation confirming family relationship, adoption or foster care may be required. If notification and appropriate certification are not provided in a timely manner, approval for leave may be denied. Continued absence after denial of leave may result in disciplinary action, up to and including, termination of employment.
The maximum time allowed for family and/or medical leave is a total of 12 weeks in the 12-month period as defined by the Organization. UPI utilizes a “rolling” 12-month period measured backward from the date an employee uses any FMLA leave. Although most leaves would be taken in a single block of time, intermittent leaves or reduced leave schedules also may be granted, where medically required, or in cases where both the organization and the employee agree.
Employees taking intermittent leave or reduced schedules may be required to temporarily transfer to another job with equivalent pay and benefits that better accommodates that type of leave.
If an employee is currently covered by UPI’s medical insurance, these benefits continue for employees on FMLA leave. Employees must continue to pay their portion of any insurance premium while on leave.
If the employee is able but does not return to work after the expiration of the leave, the employee will be required to reimburse the Organization for payment of insurance premiums during the family and/or medical leave.
Under a medical leave, employees must use earned Extended Illness (EI) and Personal Accumulated Leave (PAL). Employees on a family leave of absence must use earned Personal Accumulated Leave (PAL). Extended Illness (EI) cannot be used during a family leave. Employees are eligible to retain up to 40 hours of their earned Personal Accumulated Leave (PAL).
A leave of absence is without pay when earned paid leaves are exhausted. As with other types of unpaid leaves, PAL and EI will not accrue during the unpaid leave. Holidays, funeral leave, or UPI’s jury duty pay are not granted on unpaid leave. However, employment benefits accrued by the employee up to the day on which the family or medical leave of absence begins will not be lost.
Employees on leave must contact the Human Resource Department at least two days before their first day of return. If the leave is for an employee's own serious health condition, the employee must bring medical certification verifying ability to return to work. Failure to return to work on the day after the expiration of leave may result in termination of employment.
Employees, who return to work from family or medical leave of absence, except for certain highly compensated employees, will be returned to their same job or an equivalent position subject to the requirements of FMLA.