Sioux Valley School District - Home of the Cossacks

Reasons

In compliance with the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 and under procedures developed by the Superintendent, leave shall be granted to eligible employees for the following reasons:

1. For the birth and care of an employee’s newborn child or for placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care;

2. To care for the employee’s spouse, child, or parent who has a serious health condition, as defined by federal law;

3. For an employee’s own serious health condition, as defined by federal law, that makes the employee unable to perform the employee’s job;

4. To address a qualifying exigency (need) defined by federal regulation arising out of the active duty or call to active duty of a covered family member (spouse, son, daughter, parent or next of kin) who serves in a reserve component or as a retired member of the Regular Armed Forces or Reserve in support of a contingency operation; and

5. To care for a covered family member (spouse, son, daughter, parent or next of kin) who has incurred an injury or illness in the line of duty while on active duty in the Armed Forces that may render the family member medically unfit to perform duties of his/her office, grade, rank or rating.

Notices and Deadlines

• Employees who may be eligible for or who request leave for any of the above reasons shall be provided an FMLA notice of eligibility and rights and responsibilities. Requests for family and medical leave should be made in writing but verbal requests may be made to the immediate supervisor or other designated administrator who shall then document the request. The District may require that a request for leave be supported by a certification for health care or military-related situations as permitted by federal law, but such requirements must be set out in the required notice.

Deadline for Notice to be Provided: Absent extenuating circumstances, within five (5) business days of District receipt of a request or the District being made aware of a potentially qualifying reason.

• The District shall designate an employee’s leave, paid or unpaid, as FMLA-qualifying and shall provide a designation notice indicating whether the request is approved or if additional information is needed. Leave may be delayed if the employee does not provide proper notice (30 days advance notice for a foreseeable leave); otherwise, notice as soon as the need becomes known).

Deadline for Notice to be Provided: Absent extenuating circumstances, within five (5) business days of learning that an FMLA reason supports the leave.

Eligibility

Employees are eligible for up to twelve (12) workweeks of family and medical leave each school year, if they have been employed by the District for twelve (12) months, have worked at least 1,250 hours during the twelve (12) months preceding the start of the leave, and otherwise qualify for family and medical leave. When family and medical leave is taken to care for a service member’s recovery from a serious illness or injury sustained in the line of duty, an eligible employee may take up to twenty-six (26) workweeks of leave during a single twelve-month period.

Full-time teachers are presumed to have worked at least 1,250 hours during a school year. In determining whether returning veterans meet the minimum 1,250 hour standard, hours actually worked for the District during the twelve-month period are to be combined with hours they would have worked for the District had they not been called for military service.

In situations involving both the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and FMLA, the District shall apply the law affording the employee the greater benefit.

Restrictions

To the extent that an employee is entitled to any paid leave, such leave shall be taken and it shall run concurrently with family and medical leave, except that the employee may request to reserve ten (10) days of sick leave. (This requirement shall not apply to employees taking workers’ compensation leave.) However, when an employee’s work-related injury/medical state qualifies as a serious health condition, worker’s compensation leave shall run concurrently with the twelve (12) work week entitlement.

Paid leave used by the employee as required under this policy shall count, as applicable, against the twelve (12) or twenty-six (26) FMLA workweek entitlement.

Entitlement to family and medical leave for the birth and care of a newborn child or placement of a child shall expire twelve (12) months after the date of such birth or placement.

When both husband and wife are employed by the District, the combined amount of family and medical leave for reasons other than personal illness or illness of a child shall be limited to twelve (12) workweeks. In cases of personal illness or illness of a child, each spouse is entitled to twelve (12) workweeks of family and medical leave.

Exception: The limit on the combined amount of family and medical leave shall be twenty-six (26) workweeks when both an eligible husband and wife are employed by the District and are eligible for leave that involves a covered Armed Forces service member.

Depending on the date family and medical leave is to begin, instructional employees as designated by federal regulation may be required to continue on leave until the end of the school term to avoid disruption.

Unused family and medical leave shall not accumulate from year to year.

Intermittent Leave / Reduced Hours

Family and medical leave may be taken intermittently (when medically necessary) or on a reduced hours basis.

Continuation of Benefits

While on family and medical leave, employees shall be entitled to all employment benefits accrued prior to the date on which the leave commenced. Health insurance for an employee on family and medical leave shall continue to be provided by the state on the same basis had the employee not taken leave. Other employment benefits and seniority shall not accrue during unpaid family and medical leave.

Return to Work

As noted by the required notice of eligibility and rights and responsibilities when family and medical leave is taken due to an employee’s own serious health condition, the employee shall provide fitness-for-duty certification before returning to work. This may include certification by the health care provider that the employee is able to perform essential functions specific to the job, as noted by the District in a list attached to the certification form.

Upon return to work, the employee shall be entitled to his/her same position (or an equivalent position with equivalent pay) with corresponding benefits and other terms and conditions of employment.

Notice

The District shall notify employees of family and medical leave provisions by posting appropriate notices in conspicuous places in the Central Office and each worksite and distributing notices as required by law.