Family Military Leave guidelines

Transcription

1 Family Military Leave guidelines Overview Start the leave process as soon as you know you will be absent as specified below: If you need time off work when an eligible family member is on or has been called to active duty (exigency leave) or to care for a covered service member/covered veteran with a serious injury or illness who an eligible family member (caregiver leave). Unless the reason for Family Military Caregiver and Exigency leave also qualifies under the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), time off will apply under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) only. See definition pages at the end of this document for complete details. Follow the instructions under family care and family military leaves of absence tab to report your leave, begin the certification process and what you need to do during your leave. For foreseeable events, you must provide 30 days advance notice of your planned leave start date. For unforeseeable events, this is as soon as the need for leave is known. If you fail to notify your supervisor and contact Sedgwick within this timeframe, your request for FMLA/CFRA/PDL or company leave may be delayed or denied. When you call or report your leave online, have the following information ready to share: Your name and the name of your eligible family member (if applicable); Your personnel number and date of birth; Your home mailing address and contact number(s); Your current work schedule; The type of leave needed; The estimated duration of leave; and Your supervisor's contact information. What is a serious injury or illness under family military caregiver leave? A serious injury or illness means an injury or illness that was incurred by the covered veteran in the line of duty on active duty in the Armed Forces or that existed before the veteran s active duty and was aggravated by service in the line of duty on active duty, and that is either: a continuation of a serious injury or illness that was incurred or aggravated when the veteran was a member of the Armed Forces and rendered the servicemember unable to perform the duties of the servicemember s office, grade, rank, or rating; or a physical or mental condition for which the veteran has received a Department of Veterans Affairs Service-Related Disability Rating (VASRD) of 50 percent or greater. (The rating may be based on multiple conditions). a physical or mental condition that substantially impairs the veteran s ability to work because of a disability or disabilities related to military service, or would do so absent treatment; or an injury that is the basis for the veteran s enrollment in the Department of Veterans Affairs Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers. What is a qualifying exigency under family military leave? There are nine broad categories of qualifying exigencies. Complete details can be found in the definitions section at the end of this document Issues arising from the military member s short notice deployment Attending military events and related activities Certain childcare and related activities Certain activities related to care of the military member s parent Making or updating financial and legal arrangements Attending counseling Time to spend time with a military member who is on short-term, temporary Rest and Recuperation leave Certain post-deployment activities Any other event that the employee and employer agree is a qualifying exigency.

2 Communicate with Your Supervisor. When reporting a leave, you must inform your supervisor of the estimated length of your absence, as known. You must also communicate your paid time requests to your supervisor in advance of your absence, if foreseeable. While on leave, you are required to keep in contact with your supervisor to provide your status and intent to return to work. Certification of Your Family Military Leave. If your forms are not received within the timeframe as noted in the package (generally within 20 calendars days), your leave request may be denied or delayed. Sedgwick will count any approved time off towards the maximum hours allotted under each leave entitlement. For intermittent leaves, the certification form must include planned or unplanned absences for treatment or illness with the frequency and duration of each absence. If the form is not returned completed within the required timeframe, your request may be delayed or denied. If your leave is approved, it is your responsibility to continue to keep in touch with Sedgwick and your supervisor. Sedgwick will approve your time off based on the status of your certification, as long as the absence is within the parameters designated by your health care provider and in consideration of available leaves to you. If your leave is denied, Sedgwick will notify you and you will need to work with your supervisor on next steps. FMLA Family Military Caregiver Leave: You are required to provide a completed Medical Certification form for absences of any length of time due to the medical condition of a family member you want protected under FMLA, related state leave laws or a company leave. Review the family care and family military leaves of absence process for how to return certification forms to Sedgwick. Full details will be provided in your leave package. A Certification for Serious Injury or Illness Form needs to be completed by an authorized health care provider. If the leave is for a current servicemember, you may submit a copy of an Invitational Travel Order (ITO) or Invitational Travel Authorization (ITA) issued to any member of the covered servicemember s family. If the leave is for a covered veteran, you may also submit a copy of a VASRD rating determination or enrollment documentation from the VA Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers to certify that the veteran has a serious injury or illness. However, you may still be required to provide confirmation of family relationship and documentation of discharge date and status for a complete certification. An authorized health care provider is a: (1) United States Department of Defense ( DOD ) health care provider; (2) United States Department of Veterans Affairs ( VA ) health care provider; (3) DOD TRICARE network authorized private health care provider; (4) DOD non-network TRICARE authorized private health care provider; or (5) non-military-affiliated health care provider. FMLA Family Military Exigency Leave: You are required to provide a completed FMLA Certification of Qualifying Exigency (form will be sent by Sedgwick when your leave is requested) and a copy of the military member s covered active duty orders or documentation from the military for absences of any length of time you want protected under FMLA, related state leave laws or a company leave. Review the family care and family military leaves of absence process for how to return certification forms to Sedgwick. Full details will be provided in your leave package. Returning to Work after Family Military Leave. Contact Sedgwick and your supervisor with the date you are planning on returning to work. It takes a collaborative effort to maximize a successful return to work. You must work closely with Sedgwick, your supervisor and treating physician for a safe and effective return to work. If you need work accommodations in order to remain at or return to work, please contact the PG&E Stay-At- Work / Return-To-Work Team at HROpsInteractiveD@pge.com or call

3 Please be advised if your classification of work falls under the DOT requirements and you have been on a leave of absence greater than 30 days unpaid, you will be required to complete a pre-duty testing prior to your return to work. Please work with your supervisor for these arrangements. Benefits While on Leave Your benefits stay the same if you are still receiving pay from PG&E. You are eligible to maintain your existing medical, dental and vision coverage during your approved and unpaid leave, under certain parameters. If you are no longer receiving pay from PG&E, you can find information on your health benefits eligibility, including Life Insurance, Flexible Spending Accounts, benefits costs and changes, and benefits payment options by calling the PG&E Benefits Service Center at or visiting Performance Reviews If you have three months or more employment with PG&E and are employed as of April 1 (for Mid-year review) and as of October 1 (for Year-end review) you will receive a performance review. When you are going on a planned leave that will extend over the Mid-year or Year-end evaluation period, you have the opportunity to complete a self-evaluation and provide your supervisor with names of feedback providers. Your supervisor will be able to complete your evaluation and provide you with feedback upon your return. Eligibility, Job Protection and Pay information FMLA MILITARY CAREGIVER LEAVE Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993 FMLA requires the Company to provide up to 12 weeks, in a rolling 12-month period, of unpaid, job protected leave to eligible employees. Leaves may be taken in a consecutive period, on an intermittent basis or on a reduced schedule. Leaves may be granted for the following reasons: Employee s own serious health condition (including pregnancy under FMLA); Care for a parent, spouse or registered domestic partner (CFRA only) with a serious health condition; Care for a child with a serious health condition; Birth of a child or placement of a child in connection with adoption or foster care; Leaves may be granted because of any qualifying exigency due to a spouse, child, or parent of the employee who is on covered active duty or has been notified of an impending call or order to covered active duty in the Armed Forces (including the National Guard and Reserves) to a foreign country (FMLA only); or Care for a covered service member/covered veteran with a serious injury or illness who is the employee s spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin (FMLA only). Military Caregiver Leave for an Injured Service Member/Veteran Caregiver Leave provides 26 weeks of FMLA leave during a single 12-month period. FMLA and CFRA runs concurrently (except for pregnancy related disability, to care for a registered domestic partner with a serious health condition and exigency leave for a family member in the Armed Forces). FMLA and CFRA may run concurrently during a Military Caregiver Leave for an Injured Service Member, as applicable. Eligibility Completed one year of service with the company. Worked at least 1250 hours within the 12 months immediately preceding the leave start date. Hours worked does not include paid or unpaid absences. For purposes of Military Caregiver leave, an employee s son or daughter refers to a child of any age. Hiring Hall employees who have met the above criteria are eligible for family and medical leave under the FMLA and CFRA. Duration 26 weeks of FMLA leave during a single 12-month period. During this single 12-month period, an employee may be eligible to take a combined total of 26 workweeks of leave for the Military Caregiver Leave AND any other FMLA qualifying reason. FMLA leave may be taken intermittently whenever medically necessary to care for a covered servicemember/veteran with a serious injury or illness.

4 Job Protection You return to former or equivalent classification and work location. Hiring Hall employees may return to equivalent classification and work location if work is available. If a position is eliminated, you have no greater right to reinstatement or to other benefits and conditions of employment than if you had been continuously employed (working) during the FMLA/CFRA leave period. Pay Care of family member, including military caregiver leave: When on a leave to care for a family member, in order to help minimize a reduction in your pay during your leave, you are encouraged to utilize all of your available family sick pay effective your first day off from work. Family sick pay is required to be used effective your first day off from work, when your absence is not protected under the California Family Rights Act and/or you have not applied for Paid Family Leave (PFL) benefits. You have the option of utilizing your vacation and/or floating holiday pay if requested in advance and approved through your supervisor. If you elect to utilize your paid time, it must be used at the beginning of your leave. Sick pay other than family sick cannot be used during a family care leave. Paid time cannot be used intermittently during a continuous leave of absence. You may file a claim for State Disability Insurance with EDD. Use of paid time through the company runs concurrently with FMLA/CFRA/PDL and does not extend the 12- or 26-week FMLA/CFRA entitlement or the 4-month PDL entitlement. Other Information For FMLA/CFRA eligibility purposes, time off on military leave is treated as time worked. Spouses employed by the same employer are limited to a combined total of 26 workweeks in a single 12-month period if the leave is to care for a covered servicemember/veteran with a serious injury or illness. For unpaid leave greater than 10 consecutive workdays, you will be placed on an unpaid status in the SAP system and the company leave will start to run concurrently with your FMLA and CFRA, as applicable. FMLA Military Caregiver Leave Definitions and Conditions Covered servicemember is a current member of the Armed Forces, including a member of the National Guard or Reserves, who is receiving medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy, or is in outpatient status, or is on the temporary disability retired list for a serious injury or illness. A serious injury or illness is one that is incurred by a servicemember in the line of duty on active duty that may cause the servicemember to be medically unfit to perform the duties of his or her office, grade, rank, or rating. A serious injury or illness also includes injuries or illnesses that existed before the servicemember s active duty and that were aggravated by service in the line of duty on active duty. Covered Veteran is a veteran discharged under conditions other than dishonorable within the five-year period before you first take military caregiver leave to care for that veteran who is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy for a serious injury or illness. A serious injury or illness means an injury or illness that was incurred by the covered veteran in the line of duty on active duty in the Armed Forces or that existed before the veteran s active duty and was aggravated by service in the line of duty on active duty, and that is either: a continuation of a serious injury or illness that was incurred or aggravated when the veteran was a member of the Armed Forces and rendered the servicemember unable to perform the duties of the servicemember s office, grade, rank, or rating; or a physical or mental condition for which the veteran has received a Department of Veterans Affairs Service- Related Disability Rating (VASRD) of 50 percent or greater. (The rating may be based on multiple conditions). a physical or mental condition that substantially impairs the veteran s ability to work because of a disability or disabilities related to military service, or would do so absent treatment; or an injury that is the basis for the veteran s enrollment in the Department of Veterans Affairs Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers. NEXT OF KIN The next of kin of a current servicemember/veteran is the nearest blood relative, other than the current servicemember s/veteran s spouse, parent, son, or daughter, in the following order of priority:

5 1. a blood relative who has been designated in writing by the servicemember/veteran as the next of 2. kin for FMLA purposes 3. blood relative who has been granted legal custody of the servicemember/veteran 4. brothers and sisters 5. grandparents 6. aunts and uncles 7. first cousins SINGLE 12-MONTH PERIOD The single 12-month period for military caregiver leave begins on the first day you take leave for this reason and ends 12 months later, regardless of the 12-month period established for other FMLA leave reasons. You are limited to a combined total of 26 workweeks of leave for any FMLA-qualifying reasons during the single 12-month period. Up to 12 of the 26 weeks may be for an FMLA-qualifying reason other than military caregiver leave. For example, if you use 10 weeks of FMLA leave for your own serious health condition during the single 12-month period, you have up to 16 weeks of FMLA leave left for military caregiver leave. FMLA MILITARY EXIGENCY LEAVE Definition Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993 FMLA requires the Company to provide up to 12 weeks, in a rolling 12-month period, of unpaid, job protected leave to eligible employees. Leaves may be taken in a consecutive period, on an intermittent basis or on a reduced schedule. Leaves may be granted for the following reasons: Your own serious health condition (including pregnancy under FMLA); Care for a parent, spouse or registered domestic partner (CFRA only) with a serious health condition; Care for a child with a serious health condition. Child means a biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, legal ward, or a child of a person standing in loco parentis, who is either: under 18 years of age; 18 years of age or older and incapable of self-care due to mental or physical disability within the meaning of Gov t Code section 12926, subdivisions (i) and (k); Birth of a child or placement of a child in connection with adoption or foster care; Leaves may be granted because of any qualifying exigency due to your spouse, child, or parent who is on covered active duty or has been notified of an impending call or order to covered active duty in the Armed Forces (including the National Guard and Reserves) to a foreign country (FMLA only); or Care for a covered service member/covered veteran with a serious injury or illness who is your spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin (FMLA only). Eligibility Completed one year of service with the company. Worked at least 1250 hours within the 12 months immediately preceding the leave start date. Hours worked does not include paid or unpaid absences. For purposes of qualifying exigency leave, an employee s son or daughter on covered active duty refers to a child of any age. Has not exhausted his/her FMLA/CFRA entitlement within the 12 months prior to the requested leave date. Hiring Hall employees who have met the above criteria are eligible for FMLA Exigency leave. Duration 12 weeks in a rolling 12-month period measured backward from the date any FMLA is used. The rolling calendar is used to account for FMLA absences during a defined period of time (i.e., rolling year, rolling month and rolling week). Available FMLA entitlements will be determined by reviewing any FMLA absences taken in the 12 months prior to each new absence reported. Job Protection Employee returns to former or equivalent classification and work location. Hiring Hall employees may return to equivalent classification and work location if work is available. If a position is eliminated, employee has no greater right to reinstatement or to other benefits and conditions of employment than if the employee had been continuously working during the FMLA/CFRA leave period.

6 Pay When on a leave for a qualifying exigency, you have the option of utilizing your vacation and/or floating holiday pay if requested in advance and approved through your supervisor. Use of paid time through the company runs concurrently with FMLA and does not extend the 12- week FMLA entitlement. Other Information For FMLA/CFRA eligibility purposes, time off on military leave is treated as time worked. FMLA and CFRA runs concurrently (except for pregnancy related disability, to care for a registered domestic partner with a serious health condition and exigency leave for a family member in the Armed Forces). FMLA Qualifying Exigency Leave Definitions and Conditions COVERED ACTIVE DUTY Eligible employees may take FMLA leave for a qualifying exigency while the military member is on covered active duty, call to covered active duty status, or has been notified of an impending call or order to covered active duty. For members of the Regular Armed Forces, covered active duty is duty during deployment of the member with the Armed Forces to a foreign country. For members of the Reserve components of the Armed Forces (members of the National Guard and Reserves), covered active duty is duty during deployment of the member with the Armed Forces to a foreign country under a call or order to active duty in a contingency operation. Deployment to a foreign country means deployment to areas outside of the United States, the District of Columbia, or any Territory or possession of the United States. It also includes deployment to international waters. QUALIFYING EXIGENCY CATEGORIES The Department has identified nine broad categories of qualifying exigencies. If the military member is on covered active duty, the employee may take FMLA leave for the following qualifying exigencies: Issues arising from the military member s short notice deployment (i.e., deployment within seven or less days of notice). For a period of up to seven days from the day the military member receives notice of deployment, an employee may take qualifying exigency leave to address any issue that arises from the short-notice deployment. Attending military events and related activities, such as official ceremonies, programs, events and informational briefings, or family support or assistance programs sponsored by the military, military service organizations, or the American Red Cross that are related to the member s deployment. Certain childcare and related activities arising from the military member s covered active duty, including arranging for alternative childcare, providing childcare on a non-routine, urgent, immediate need basis, enrolling in or transferring a child to a new school or day care facility. Note: The employee taking FMLA qualifying exigency leave does not need to be related to the military member s child. However, (1) the military member must be the parent, spouse, son or daughter of the employee taking FMLA leave, and (2) the child must be the child of the military member (including a child to whom the military member stands in loco parentis). Certain activities arising from the military member s covered active duty related to care of the military member s parent who is incapable of self-care, such as arranging for alternative care, providing care on a non-routine, urgent, immediate need basis, admitting or transferring a parent to a new care facility, and attending certain meetings with staff at a care facility, such as meetings with hospice or social service providers. Note: The employee taking FMLA qualifying exigency leave does not need to be related to the military member s parent. However, (1) the military member must be the parent, spouse, son or daughter of the employee taking FMLA leave, and (2) the parent must be the parent of the military member (including an individual who stood in loco parentis to the military member when the member was a child). Making or updating financial and legal arrangements to address a military member s absence while on covered active duty, including preparing and executing financial and healthcare powers of attorney, enrolling in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS), or obtaining military identification cards. Attending counseling for the employee, the military member, or the child of the military member when the need for that counseling arises from the covered active duty of the military member and is provided by someone other than a health care provider.

7 Taking up to 15 calendar days of leave to spend time with a military member who is on short-term, temporary Rest and Recuperation leave during deployment. The employee s leave for this reason must be taken while the military member is on Rest and Recuperation leave. Certain post-deployment activities within 90 days of the end of the military member s covered active duty, including attending arrival ceremonies, reintegration briefings and events, and other official ceremonies or programs sponsored by the military, and addressing issues arising from the death of a military member, including attending the funeral. Any other event that the employee and employer agree is a qualifying exigency. Leave of Absence Conditions For Maintaining Status as an Employee while on an approved leave By requesting a Leave of Absence, I agree to all conditions stated below to maintain my employee status while on a leave under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), California Family Rights Act (CFRA), California Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL), Company leave and/or other Federal, State or local leave of absence: Leave is not intended for a purpose that may lead to my resignation. I will not accept other employment or engage in business while on leave, except with specific prior written authorization. I will not engage in activities that contradict my medical reason for being out on a leave or contradict my ability to return to work during my normally scheduled working hours. I will not apply for unemployment benefits while on leave. I may be required to submit a new Health Care Provider Certification every 30 days in connection with an absence and/or at the end of a leave entitlement to reconfirm that I am still unable to work. To clarify my eligibility for FMLA/CFRA/Company leave and/or fitness to return to work, PG&E reserves the right to have me examined by an assigned panel physician at any time while I am on leave or before returning to work. I understand that while I am on leave I am required to keep in contact with my supervisor to provide updates on any changes to my leave status and intent to return to work. I understand it is my responsibility to have current FMLA/CFRA/PDL/State/Company Leave of Absence documentation on file at all times to maintain my employment eligibility during my leave and keep PG&E and Sedgwick informed of my current mailing address. Leave may not be used to cover a period of incarceration. PG&E respects and supports the need for FMLA/CFRA/PDL/State/Company leaves for those employees who have a serious health condition or need to care for a family member with a serious health condition. Please be assured that PG&E does not discourage the use of job-protected leave and is fully supportive of Federal and State laws. However, PG&E takes fraud very seriously due to the impact it has on business and other employees. If fraud is confirmed, the offending employee will be subject to termination.