[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village
of Great Neck Estates 5-11-2009. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The purpose of this chapter is to establish a policy and guidelines
for the use of family or medical leave for Village of Great Neck Estates
employees, consistent with the rules and regulations adopted by the
United States Department of Labor.
A.
Family and medical reasons. As provided by the 1993 Family and Medical
Leave Act (FMLA), all eligible employees shall be entitled to 12 weeks
of unpaid, job-protected leave during a twelve-month period for one
or more of the following reasons:
B.
Military family leave. As provided by the 2008 National Defense Authorization
Act, all eligible employees shall also be entitled to unpaid leave
during a twelve-month period as follows:
(1)
Military caregiver leave. Eligible employees who are family members
of covered service members of the Armed Forces (including members
of the National Guard or Reserves) may take up to 26 workweeks of
leave to care for a service member who has a serious illness or injury
that was incurred in the line of duty while on active duty and, as
a result, is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy,
is otherwise in outpatient services, or is otherwise on the temporary
disability retired list. The definition of "family" is broader than
"son, daughter, spouse or parent," and includes "next of kin" (which
is defined as the nearest blood relative).
(2)
Qualifying exigency leave. Eligible employees with a spouse, son,
daughter, or parent who is a covered military member serving in the
National Guard or Reserves may be eligible for up to 12 weeks of unpaid
leave to use for any qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that
a covered military member is on active duty or called to active duty
status in support of a contingency operation. "Qualifying exigency"
refers to eight categories for which employees can use this FMLA leave,
including short-notice deployment; military events and related activities;
child care and school activities; financial and legal arrangements;
counseling; rest and recuperation; post-deployment activities; and
additional activities not encompassed in the other categories but
agreed to by the employer and employee.
An employee shall be entitled to family leave when he/she meets
the following criteria:
A.
The employee has worked for at least 12 months for the Village. The
12 months need not have been consecutive. (If the employee was on
the payroll for part of a week, the Village will count the entire
week. The Village considers 52 weeks to be equal to 12 months).
B.
The employee has to have worked for the Village for at least 1,250
hours over the 12 months before the leave begins.
C.
When both spouses are employed by the Village, they are jointly entitled
to a combined total of 12 workweeks of family leave during any rolling
twelve-month period for the birth and care of a newborn child or placement
of a child for adoption or foster care, and to care for a parent who
has a serious health condition, and for military qualifying exigency
leave. For military caregiver leave, spouses both employed by the
Village are jointly entitled to a combined total of 26 workweeks of
leave.
Eligible employees can use up to 12 weeks of leave during any
twelve-month period. The Village will use a rolling twelve-month period
measured backward from the date an employee first uses FMLA leave.
(It will not be measured backward before August 5, 1993.) Each time
an employee uses leave, the Village computes the amount of leave the
employee has taken under this policy and subtracts it from the 12
weeks, and the balance remaining is the amount the employee is entitled
to take at that time. For example, if an employee has taken five weeks
of leave in the past 12 months, he/she could take an additional seven
weeks under this policy. Eligibility for unpaid leave for the birth
and care of a newborn child or for the placement with the employee
of a child for adoption or foster care expires at the end of the twelve-month
period beginning on the date of the birth, adoption or placement.
Any such leave must be concluded within this twelve-month period.
A.
An employee shall be entitled to maintain group health and dental
insurance coverages on the same basis as if he/she had continued to
work at the Village. To maintain uninterrupted coverage, during a
period of family or medical leave, an employee who contributes to
group health and/or dental insurance may choose to remain covered
under the Village's group health and dental insurance plans on
the same conditions, including the payment by the employee of the
employee's share of the premiums for coverage, as would have
been provided if the employee had been continuously employed during
the leave period. While substituting paid leave during the period
of family or medical leave, the Village will continue to make payroll
deductions to collect the employee's share, if any, of the premiums
for such coverages. While on unpaid leave, the employee who contributes
must continue to make his/her contributions. Payment must be made
monthly and must be received by the Village by the fifth day of the
month. Payment must be made by check or money order payable to "Incorporated
Village of Great Neck Estates." An employee's failure to pay
required premiums within 30 days of the due date will result in the
cessation of the employee's group health and/or dental insurance
coverages during the entire remaining leave period.
B.
Generally, if an employee fails to return to work after a period
of family or medical leave, for reasons other than the continuation
of a serious health condition, the employee will be required to pay
to the Village an amount equal to any group health and dental insurance
paid by the Village on behalf of the employee during the leave period.
C.
Other benefits such as the accrual of seniority will not continue
during leave. However, the use of family or medical leave will not
be considered a break in service when vesting or eligibility to participate
in benefit programs is being determined.
A.
An employee who utilizes family or medical leave under this policy
will be restored to the same job or a job with equivalent status,
pay, benefits and other employment terms.
B.
The Village may choose to exempt certain highly compensated "key"
employees from this job restoration requirement and not return them
to the same or a similar position at the completion of FMLA leave.
Employees who may be exempted will be informed of this status when
they request leave. If the Village deems it necessary to deny job
restoration for a key employee on FMLA leave, the Village will inform
the employee of its intention and will offer the employee the opportunity
to return to work immediately.
C.
An employee who has been on leave due to the employee's own
serious health condition who wants to return to work must provide
the Village with a certification from a health-care provider that
the employee is able to resume work. Return to employment will be
denied if this certification is not provided.
If an employee has accrued paid leave of less than 12 weeks,
the employee will use paid leave first and take the remainder of the
12 weeks as unpaid leave.
A.
If an employee uses leave because of the serious health condition
of an immediate family member, the employee will first use all paid
leave and then will be eligible for unpaid leave.
B.
An employee using leave for the birth of a child will use paid sick
leave for physical recovery after childbirth. The employee then may
use all paid vacation or personal leave for the care of the newborn
child and then will be eligible for unpaid leave for the remainder
of the 12 weeks.
C.
An employee using leave for the adoption or foster care of a child
will use all paid vacation or personal leave first and then will be
eligible for unpaid leave for the remainder of the 12 weeks.
In certain cases, intermittent use of the 12 weeks of family
or medical leave or as part of a reduced workweek may be allowed by
the Village.
A.
Employees wishing to use leave intermittently or to utilize a reduced
workweek for birth or adoption purposes will need to discuss and gain
approval for such use from the employee's department head and
the Village Administrator.
B.
Employees may also use family or medical leave intermittently or
as part of a reduced workweek whenever it is medically necessary.
If the need to use leave is foreseeable and based on preplanned and
prescheduled medical treatment, then the employee is responsible to
schedule the treatment in a manner that does not unduly disrupt the
Village's operations. This provision is subject to the approval
of the health-care provider.
C.
In some cases, the Village may temporarily transfer an employee using
intermittent or a reduced workweek to a different job with equivalent
pay and benefits if another position would better accommodate the
intermittent or reduced schedule.
A.
All employees requesting leave under this policy must complete the
appropriate leave certification form available from the Village.
B.
An eligible employee must provide the Village with at least 30 days'
advance written notice before the requested family or medical leave
is to begin if the leave is foreseeable. If, under the circumstances,
30 days' notice is not practicable due to an emergency or lack
of knowledge as to when leave will be needed, notice must be given
to the Village as soon as practicable.
C.
An eligible employee requesting leave to care for the employee's
spouse, child or parent with a serious health condition or because
of the employee's own serious health condition is required to
provide a certification (in the form acceptable to the Village) of
the serious health condition from a health-care provider. This certification
must be provided within 15 calendar days after it is requested by
the Village. Recertification of the serious health condition will
also be required to be provided to the Village no more often than
every 30 days during the leave period. Failure to provide the required
certification or recertification could result in the leave being refused
or the leave being discontinued, as the case may be.
D.
Qualified health-care providers include doctors of medicine or osteopathy,
podiatrists, dentists, clinical psychologists, optometrists and chiropractors,
nurse practitioners and nurse-midwives authorized to practice under
state law and performing within the scope of their practice under
state law, and Christian Science practitioners.
E.
Employees with questions about coverage under this FMLA policy are
encouraged to meet with the Village representative responsible for
human resources for guidance and to obtain the necessary certification
forms.
