Family and Medical Leave

Policy Statement

Durham Technical Community College supports the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) that allows employees to balance work and family by taking reasonable unpaid leave for certain family and medical reasons.

Procedure

Durham Technical Community College (Durham Tech) provides family and medical leave as well as military family leave to eligible employees consistent with this policy and to ensure compliance with the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, as well as the Military Family Leave Entitlement Amendment.

The family and medical leave provisions provide eligible employees with up to twelve (12) weeks of leave, with or without pay, during any twelve-month “rolling” period, for any of the following reasons:

• The birth of a child and to care for the child after birth, or beginning foster care, provided the leave is taken within the twelve-month period immediately following the birth;

• To care for a child placed with the employee for adoption, provided the leave is taken within the twelve-month period immediately following the adoption;

• To care for the employee's child, spouse, or parent when that child, spouse, or parent has a serious health condition; or

• When the employee has a serious health condition that renders the employee unable to perform the functions of his or her position (see also: Sick Leave policy).

Employees requesting family and medical leave may choose to exhaust any or all of their available annual and/or sick leave, or take leave without pay. A statement from the attending physician that describes the particular medical condition must accompany the request. Periods of paid leave (annual and sick leave) and periods of leave without pay count toward the twelve (12) work weeks to which the employee is entitled. The employee may request an extension of his or her family and medical leave.

Reporting Time

While out on family and medical leave, employees must use sick, annual, or bonus leave time to make up for the absence, and must record the time in the College’s leave system. Payroll will deduct the time from their leave balance in the following order: sick leave until exhausted, annual leave until exhausted, then any available bonus leave. Once leave is exhausted, the employee will not be paid for any time missed unless he or she applies for and receives Voluntary Shared Leave to supplement the outstanding hours.

If an employee is absent for an extended period of time, whether on family and medical leave or not, and is unable to enter their leave time, his or her supervisor is responsible for the leave reporting and must notify payroll by the 10th of each month.

Purpose

The federal Family and Medical Leave Act covers certain employers; affects only those employees eligible for the protections of the law; involves entitlement to leave, maintenance of health benefits during leave, and job restoration after leave; sets requirements for notice and certification of the need for family and medical leave as well as for military family leave; and protects employees who request to take such leave. The law also includes certain employer recordkeeping requirements.