Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

Employees may be entitled to a leave of absence under the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”). This policy is intended to provide Launch employees with a summary of basic information they may need to know regarding their FMLA rights. In the event of any conflict between this policy and applicable law, the law will control. If employees have any questions concerning FMLA leave, they should contact the Senior Director of Finance.

Eligibility

To be eligible for FMLA leave, an employee:

  • Must have worked for Launch for at least twelve (12) months (which need not be consecutive) as of the date the FMLA leave is to begin;
  • must have at least 1,250 hours of service for Launch during the twelve (12) month period immediately before the FMLA leave is to begin; and
  • must work at a location where Launch employs at least 50 employees within 75 miles of the employee’s worksite, as of the date the employee gives notice of the need for leave.

Leave Entitlements

Eligible employees can take up to twelve (12) weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave during any 12-month period (measured backward from the date an FMLA leave commences) for one or more of the following qualifying reasons:

  • the birth of the employee’s child and to bond with the newborn child within one year of birth (“Bonding Leave”);
  • the placement with the employee of a child for adoption or foster care and to bond with the newly-placed child within one year of placement (“Bonding Leave”);
  • a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the functions of their job, including incapacity due to pregnancy and for prenatal medical care (“Serious Health Condition Leave”);
  • to care for the employee’s spouse, child or parent who has a serious health condition, including incapacity due to pregnancy and for prenatal medical care (“Family Care Leave”);
  • any qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that the employee’s spouse, child or parent is a military service member on covered active duty or call to covered active duty status (or has been notified of an impending call or order to covered active duty (“Qualifying Exigency Leave”).

In addition, eligible employees may take up to twenty-six (26) workweeks of leave during a single twelve (12) month period measured forward beginning on the first day the employee takes leave to care for a covered service member with a serious injury or illness if the employee is the spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin of the service member (“Military Caregiver Leave”).

The FMLA does not supersede any state or local law which may provide different or greater family or medical leave rights. Where permitted by law, leave under those state-specific family and medical leave laws will run concurrently with leave taken under the FMLA. If you have any questions about family and medical leave coverage under applicable federal, state or local law or about your eligibility for coverage, please contact the Senior Director of Finance or Trinet at connect360@trinet.com.

Family and Medical Leave for Spouses

If both spouses work for Launch, the total combined leave they may take for certain FMLA-qualifying reasons is limited. Specifically:

Birth, Adoption or Foster Care Placement:

When leave is for the birth, adoption or foster care placement of a child, the combined total of FMLA leave that can be taken by both spouses is 12 weeks in a 12-month period.

Personal or Family Member's Serious Health Condition:

When leave is for a personal serious health condition or to care for a parent, child or spouse with a serious health condition, each spouse is entitled to the full 12 weeks of FMLA leave per 12-month period.

Military Caregiver Leave:

When leave is for military caregiver leave to care for a covered servicemember with a serious illness or injury, the combined total for both spouses is 26 weeks in a single 12-month period.

Length of FMLA Leave

An eligible employee may take up to a maximum of twelve (12) workweeks of unpaid leave in a “rolling” twelve-month period measured backward from the date that the employee’s FMLA leave begins, when the leave is taken for: (1) Bonding Leave; (2) Serious Health Condition Leave; (3) Family Care Leave; and/or (4) Qualifying Exigency Leave.

The maximum amount of FMLA leave available for an eligible employee who needs to take Military Caregiver Leave will be a combined leave total of twenty-six (26) workweeks in a single twelve-month period. A “single twelve-month period” is measured forward, beginning on the date of the employee’s first use of such leave and ending twelve (12) months after that date.

Requests for FMLA Leave

To request FMLA leave, employees must give notice either verbally or in writing to the Senior Director of Finance. Where the need for leave is foreseeable, employees must provide at least thirty (30) days of notice before the date that the leave is expected to begin. Where the need for leave is not foreseeable, employees must provide notice as soon as possible and practical. Employees may be required to explain why they provided less than thirty days’ notice of the need for foreseeable leave. If an employee fails to give timely advance notice with no reasonable excuse when thirty days’ notice is required for foreseeable leave, Trinet may have a delay in the processing of your FMLA. The employee must provide sufficient information to enable the FMLA administrator, Trinet, to determine if the leave is FMLA-qualifying and must advise the School of the anticipated timing and duration of the leave. If the employee fails to respond to Trinets’ reasonable inquiries for missing information, the leave may be denied.

Medical Certification

In cases where an employee is requesting a medical leave because of the employee's own serious health condition or that of a spouse, child or parent, the FMLA Administrator, Trinet, will require the employee to submit a written medical certification from a healthcare provider verifying the need for the leave. The employee must provide a complete and sufficient certification within fifteen calendar days after the Schools’ request, unless it is not practicable despite the employee’s diligent, good faith efforts. The failure to provide the required medical certification within the time allotted may result in the denial of the FMLA leave. If a certification is incomplete or insufficient, the Director of Finance or his or her designee will notify the employee in writing of what information is necessary to complete the medical certification and provide the employee with at least seven calendar days to furnish the additional information. Failure to cure the deficiencies identified by the Director of Finance or his or her designee may result in the denial of the FMLA leave.

The School, at its own expense, may require the employee to receive a second opinion from a healthcare provider designated and approved by the School. If this opinion conflicts with the first opinion, the School, again at its own expense, may request a third opinion from a healthcare provider mutually agreed upon by both the School and the employee. The third opinion will be binding on both parties.

During FMLA leave, Launch may request employees to provide the School with recertification of a serious health condition at intervals during their leave in accordance with the FMLA.

An unexcused failure to provide requested documentation may result in the denial or suspension of leave. The School may attempt to clarify or authenticate a certification. When leave is taken to care for a family member, the School may require the employee to provide documentation or a statement of family relationship (e.g., birth certificate or court document).

Pay During Leave

FMLA leave is unpaid. However, depending upon the circumstances, employees may be entitled to receive partial wage-replacement benefits, such as short-term disability or workers’ compensation benefits during FMLA leave. An employee eligible for FMLA also may be entitled to Paid Family Leave benefits during FMLA leave. These state-sponsored wage replacement benefits will run concurrently with the employee’s unpaid FMLA leave, to the extent permitted by law, and will not serve to extend the length of the employee’s FMLA leave under this policy.

In addition, employees on FMLA leave may choose to use their accrued, unused paid time off concurrently with their FMLA leave. Substituting available paid time off for otherwise unpaid FMLA leave time will not serve to extend the length of the employee’s FMLA leave under this policy.

The receipt of partial wage-replacement benefits and/or the use of available paid time off concurrent with FMLA leave does not extend the duration of FMLA leave to which an employee is entitled. Furthermore, employees will not be entitled to receive more than 100% of their regular weekly salary.

Status of Benefits While on Leave

An employee who is on FMLA leave will continue to be covered under the School’s group health insurance plan on the same basis as coverage would have been provided if the employee had been continuously employed during the entire leave period. The employee must continue to pay whatever share of group health plan premiums that the employee paid prior to FMLA leave. If paid leave is used for any portion of the FMLA leave, the employee’s share of premiums will be paid by a payroll deduction.

During any period of unpaid FMLA leave, employees are responsible for their portion of health insurance premiums. Instead of a payroll deduction, employees will have the option to pay back their premium costs through Trinet's drawback benefit payment program in future payrolls after returning from leave. Repayment can be made in full or split into multiple payments over time through payroll deductions. Employees should follow up with Trinet for more details on utilizing the draw back program and available repayment options. Failure to arrange for repayment of insurance premiums through the draw back program may result in cancellation of coverage during the unpaid leave period. It is the employee's responsibility to consult with Trinet to understand the requirements and prevent any lapse in coverage.

Intermittent and Reduced Schedule Leave

Intermittent leave is leave taken in separate blocks of time for a single FMLA qualifying reason. Reduced work schedule leave is leave taken that reduces employees' usual number of working hours per workday or workweek.

FMLA leave for a Serious Health Condition Leave, Family Care Leave, or Military Caregiver Leave may be taken intermittently or on a reduced schedule basis when medically necessary. FMLA leave may also be taken intermittently or on a reduced schedule for a Qualifying Exigency Leave.

If the need for intermittent leave is based on planned medical treatment, the employee is required to consult with their supervisor or the Director of Finance to make a reasonable attempt to schedule the treatment in a manner that does not unduly disrupt the School or School operations. Leave to care for or bond with a newborn child or for a newly placed adopted or foster child may only be taken intermittently with one’s supervisor’s approval and must conclude within 12 months after the birth or placement.

Under certain circumstances, the School may temporarily transfer the employee to an alternative position with equivalent pay and benefits that better accommodates intermittent or reduced schedule leave.

An instructional employee who needs intermittent leave or leave on a reduced schedule to care for a family member, for the employee’s own serious health condition or military caregiver leave is subject to special rules. Upon request, the Senior Director of Finance may provide the necessary information.

Leave During School Closings

For purposes of determining the amount of FMLA leave used by an employee, the fact that a holiday may occur within a week taken as FMLA leave has no effect; the week is counted as a week of FMLA leave. However, during extended School closings where the School’s activities have temporarily ceased and employees generally are not expected to report for work for one or more weeks (e.g., winter vacation, summer vacation), the days the School is closed do not count against the employee’s FMLA leave entitlement, unless the employee is one who would otherwise work year-round on an administrative schedule.

Reporting in While on Leave

During FMLA leave, an employee is encouraged to report periodically with their supervisor or his or her designee on the employee’s status and intent to return-to-work. If circumstances change and more or less leave is needed, Launch may require the employee to provide reasonable notice (within 3 business days) of the changed circumstances where foreseeable. The employee is expected to notify their supervisor or his or her designee of his/her expected return-to-work date.

FMLA Leave for Instructional Employees Near the End of an Academic Term

In certain circumstances, such as when an instructional employee requests leave near the end of an academic term, special rules may apply. For further information or clarification about FMLA leave, please contact the Senior Director of Finance.

Return from FMLA Leave

During the leave, all existing accrued benefits will be retained. An employee on FMLA leave is not entitled to the accrual of any seniority or employment benefits (e.g., holidays) during any period of leave, except as expressly stated herein or as otherwise required by law.

Subject to the limitations specified below, upon return from FMLA leave, Launch will reinstate the employee to the same position held before leave or to an equivalent position with equivalent pay, benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment. If, during the leave period, the employee’s position is eliminated or restructured, reasonable efforts will be made to restore the individual to a comparable position. Employees who have taken FMLA leave, however, have no greater right to job restoration than if they had been continuously employed.

Launch reserves the right to deny reinstatement to a “key employee”, defined as a salaried, FMLA-eligible employee who is among the highest paid ten percent of all Launch employees employed within 75 miles of the worksite, if such denial is necessary to prevent substantial and grievous economic injury to Launch’s operations.

Failure to Return to Work Following FMLA Leave

Failure to return to work following the conclusion of FMLA leave will be considered a voluntary resignation unless such leave is covered by and has been extended under Launch’s Reasonable Accommodations in the Workplace Policy.

Explanation of Terms

For purposes of this FMLA policy, the following terms have the following corresponding definitions:

“Covered Active Duty” or “Call to Covered Active Duty Status” means 1) in the case of a member of the Regular Armed Forces, duty during the deployment of the member with the Armed Forces to a foreign country; and 2) in the case of a member of the Reserve components of the Armed Forces, duty during the deployment of the member with the Armed Forces to a foreign country under a Federal call or order to active duty in support of a contingency operation as defined by applicable law.

“Covered service member” means a current member of the Armed Forces, including a member of the National Guard or Reserves, who is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy, is otherwise in outpatient status, or is otherwise on the temporary disability retired list, for a serious injury or illness; or a veteran who was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable at any time during the five-year period prior to the first date the eligible employee takes FMLA leave to care for the covered veteran, and who is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy for a serious injury or illness.

A “serious injury or illness” in connection with military leave is one that was incurred by a covered service member in the line of duty on active duty that may render the service member medically unfit to perform the duties of his/her office, grade, rank, or rating.

“Military Caregiver Leave - Parental Care” under the FMLA means eligible employees may take up to 26 workweeks of leave during a single 12-month period to care for a covered servicemember's parent who is incapable of self-care when the care is necessitated by the servicemember's covered serious injury or illness.

“Qualifying exigency” includes:

  • Issues arising from a covered military member’s short notice deployment (i.e., deployment on seven or less days of notice) for a period of seven days from the date of notification;
  • Military events and related activities, such as official ceremonies, programs, or events sponsored by the military or family support or assistance programs and informational briefings sponsored or promoted by the military, military service organizations, or the American Red Cross that are related to the covered active duty or call to covered active duty status of the military member;
  • Certain childcare and school activities arising from the covered active duty or call to covered active duty status of a military member, such as arranging for alternative childcare, providing childcare on a non-routine, urgent, immediate need basis, enrolling or transferring a child to a new school or day care facility, and attending certain meetings with staff at a school or a day care facility if they are necessary due to circumstances arising from the covered active duty or call to covered active duty status of the military member;
  • Making or updating financial and legal arrangements to address the military member’s absence while on covered active duty or call to covered active duty status;
  • Attending counseling provided by someone other than a health care provider for oneself, the military member, or the child of the military member, the need for which arises from the covered active duty or call to covered active duty status of the military member;
  • 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 the period of deployment;
  • Attending to certain post-deployment activities, including attending arrival ceremonies, reintegration briefings and events, and other official ceremonies or programs sponsored by the military for a period of ninety (90) days following the termination of the military member’s covered active duty status, and addressing issues arising from the death of a military member while on covered active duty status; or
  • Any other event that the employee and the School agree is a qualifying exigency.

“Serious health condition” means an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves:

  • Inpatient care, meaning an overnight stay in a hospital, hospice, or residential medical care facility, including any period of incapacity (i.e., inability to work, attend School, or perform other regular daily activities) or any subsequent treatment in connection with such inpatient care; or

  • Continuing treatment by a health care provider, which includes:

    • A period of incapacity of more than three consecutive, full calendar days, and any subsequent treatment or period of incapacity relating to the same condition, that also involves:
      • treatment two or more times, within 30 days of the first day of incapacity, unless extenuating circumstances exist, by a healthcare provider, by a nurse under direct supervision of a healthcare provider, or by a provider of health care services under orders of, or on referral by, a health care provider; or
      • treatment by a healthcare provider on at least one occasion, which results in a regimen of continuing treatment under the supervision of the health care provider; The above requirements for treatment by a health care provider means an in-person visit to a health care provider; the first (or only) in-person treatment visit must take place within seven days of the first day of incapacity. Whether additional treatment visits or a regimen of continuing treatment is necessary within the 30-day period shall be determined by the health care provider.
  • Any period of incapacity due to pregnancy, or for prenatal care (a visit to the health care provider is not necessary for each absence);
  • Any period of incapacity or treatment for such incapacity due to a chronic serious health condition, which is one that requires periodic visits (at least twice a year) for treatment by a healthcare provider, or by a nurse under direct supervision of a health care provider, continues over an extended period of time (including recurring episodes of a single underlying condition), and may cause episodic rather than a continuing period of incapacity. A visit to a health care provider is not necessary for each absence;
  • A period of incapacity that is permanent or long-term due to a condition for which treatment may not be effective; only supervision by a health care provider is required, rather than active treatment;
  • Any period of absence to receive multiple treatments (including any period of recovery therefrom) by a health care provider or by a provider of health care services under order of, or on referral by, a health care provider, for restorative surgery after an accident or other injury, or for a condition that would likely result in a period of incapacity of more than three (3) consecutive, full calendar days in the absence of medical intervention or treatment.