Leave Management

1. Leave Management

2. Leave Management Objectives • In the Leave Management training you will learn what leave entitlements staff members have, as well as how to administer, track and communicate leave policies. • To learn the most up to date leave policies • To become more familiar with staff leave entitlements • To learn the ways and reasons a staff member may take leave • To understand the supervisor responsibilities in administering leave

3. Leave Management • Family Medical Leave Act/Pregnancy Disability Leave/CFRA • Family medical leave is the terminology used by University of California campuses and ANR for medically related leaves which includes the Family Medical Leave Act as well as the Pregnancy Disability Leave Act and the California Family Rights Act. What is the Difference? • FMLA – Federal entitlement • CFRA - State entitlement • PDL – State & UC entitlement (pregnancy only) • FMLA and CFRA run concurrently • FMLA and PDL run concurrently • CFRA and PDL do not run concurrently

4. Leave Management Family Medical Leave Act/Pregnancy Disability Leave/CFRA HIPAA & FML The Federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a law that protects a patient’s medical information from being distributed to others without the patient’s consent. If HIPAA is violated, supervisors can be held personally liable for the violation and fined up to $15,000. If you have HIPAA concerns, please contact the Staff Personnel Unit immediately.

5. Leave Management Family Medical Leave Act/Pregnancy Disability Leave/CFRA Determining FML Eligibility • Employee must have at least 12 months of University service (does not need to be consecutive months) • Employee has worked 1250 hours in the consecutive 12 months immediately preceding the leave • Has an illness, injury, impairment or physical/mental condition which is considered a Serious Health Condition Exceptions • Employed • Pregnant

6. Leave Management Family Medical Leave Act/Pregnancy Disability Leave/CFRA Amount of Leave Entitlement An eligible employee is generally entitled to 12 workweeks of FML in a calendar year. • That means no more than 12 workweeks for that particular employee. • For employees who work part time or alternative work schedules the entitlement is calculated on a prorated basis.

7. Leave Management Family Medical Leave Act/Pregnancy Disability Leave/CFRA How Can Leave be Taken? • In blocks of time • Intermittently (tracked by the supervisor on a regular basis, on the intermittent leave tracking form) • By working a reduced schedule • Calculated in: 15 minute increments, hours, days, weeks, months • Prorated based on appointment percentage

8. Leave Management Family Medical Leave Act/Pregnancy Disability Leave/CFRA Qualifying Reasons for Leave • For the employee’s own serious health condition (SHC). • For the employee’s pregnancy related disability. (Pregnancy Disability Leave) • As parental leave to bond with the employee’s newborn, or foster care child (within 12 months of the child’s birth or placement, as applicable. • To care for employee’s family member (child, spouse, same or opposite sex domestic partner or parent) who has an SHC. • As military caregiver leave to care for a covered service member with a serious injury or illness incurred in the line of duty. • As qualifying exigency leave to care for family related issues, including childcare when a family member has been called to active duty or notified of an impending call to duty.

9. Leave Management Family Medical Leave Act/Pregnancy Disability Leave/CFRA When to Give the Employee the FML Packet The supervisor should give the employee the FML packet provided by the SPU whenever they become aware of a possible condition. This could mean the employee is out for five days, or that the employee has made a comment, or others have seen an indication that the need for leave could be serious.

10. Leave Management Supervisor Responsibilities • Notify the Staff Personnel Unit of any impending leaves, as soon as possible • Notify the employee of their need to contact the UCD campus benefits office for their continuing benefits and disability possibilities • After the SPU provides you with the FML packet, review the packet with the employee and turn in all appropriate documents to the SPU, once complete

11. Leave Management Supervisor Responsibilities • Contact the SPU with the return to work certification once the employee has returned from leave • Follow up with the employee to ensure they have filled out/completed all of the appropriate documentation • Maintain confidentiality at all times. The employees medical file and personnel files should be kept separate • If the leave is intermittent, work with the employee, BOC and SPU to track. • Contact the SPU with any questions or concerns at ANRStaffPersonnel@ucdavis.edu

12. Leave Management Work Contingency Plan A work contingency plan is necessary when an employee is going to be on an extended leave and whose duties will still need to be fulfilled while the employee is out. The plan will set out what duties will be done by who and what types of work may be temporarily reassigned while the employee is on an extended absence. You may contact ANRStaffPersonnel@ucdavis.edu with any questions on reassigning duties.

13. Leave Management Interactive Process The department must engage an employee in the Interactive Process to evaluate whether job modifications can be made which enable the employee to continue to perform the essential functions of the job when: • An employee is out for a prolonged disability leave • An employee discloses that s/he has a disability impacting his/her job • An employee provides medical information describing prolonged or permanent impairments

14. Leave Management Reasonable Accommodation "Reasonable Accommodation" is a reasonable change or modification that will enable an employee to perform the essential functions of the job. When an employee has prolonged or permanent disabilities that impair the employee's ability to perform his/her job, an effort must be made by the unit to provide accommodation to enable the employee to work in a modified capacity or change to a more suitable position.

15. Leave Management Leave of Absence Effect on Benefits An employee’s leave may have a significant impact on their benefits, therefore an employee should contact the Benefits Office before (a) starting a leave, (b) changing to leave without pay, and (c) returning from leave. In many circumstances, an employee may be eligible for some type of benefit to assist them during the medical leave. Catastrophic Leave – Vacation time donated to support employee on leave University Paid Disability – Disability benefit accrued through the University Supplemental Disability – Disability benefit accrued by paying into the system

16. Leave Management Catastrophic Leave This program allows employees to donate accrued vacation to support a colleague who has exhausted his or her paid leave due to a catastrophic illness. Eligibility • Holds a career appointment • Passed probation • Requests the catastrophic leave during or before the leave, not after • Recipient must exhaust all paid leave • Is in a collective bargaining unit that participates in the program or is a non-represented employee

17. Leave Management University Paid Disability Eligibility • Is a member of a Defined Benefit Retirement Plan to which the University contributes (such as UCRP, PERS, etc.) • Is appointed in a position at least 50% time for 12 months or more, and • Maintains an average regular paid time equal to 20 hours or more per week. Note: University Paid Disability is processed through the UC Davis campus benefits office. They can be reached at (530) 752-1774

18. Leave Management Supplemental Disability Eligibility • You are a member of a Defined Benefit Retirement Plan to which the University contributes (such as UCRP, PERS, etc.), and • You maintain average regular paid time equal to 17.5 hours or more per week. • Have enrolled and pay the monthly premium for supplemental disability benefits Note: Supplemental Disability is processed through the UC Davis campus benefits office. They can be reached at (530) 752-1774

19. Leave Management Workers Compensation While Workers Compensation is not the same as Family Medical Leave and is considered a separate entitlement, supervisors are encouraged to work with the employee to “provisionally designate” a Workers Compensation (WC) case as Family Medical Leave, pending approval from our third party vendor on the Workers Compensation case.