Your
Rights
under the
Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993:
The
right to take leave under FMLA applies equally to male and female employees.
A father, as well as a mother, can take family leave for the birth,
adoption or foster care of a child.
If
the newborn’s father works for a different employer, he has a
separate right to take 12 weeks of FMLA leave over a twelve-month period,
commencing the date the baby is born. If the father works for the same
employer, the father and mother are limited to sharing a combined total
of 12 weeks for the birth of the child.
Any
period of incapacity related to pregnancy (i.e., severe morning
sickness, doctor visits or inability to work) is covered by the Act
and should be documented accordingly.
Because
circumstances may require that FMLA leave begin before the actual date
of birth of a child, FMLA paperwork should be completed as soon as pregnancy
is diagnosed and returned to Human Resource Management (HRM).
HRM
should be notified when physician certifies that the employee is unable
to continue working and given a medical release when the employee returns
to work after the birth of the baby.
Example
1:
Lisa
is a full time Typist Clerk. Her husband, Tom, is a Business Manager.
Tom and Lisa are expecting the birth of their first child in one month.
They both want to take FMLA to care for the baby. Lisa has four weeks
of sick leave and two weeks of annual leave. Tom has two weeks of sick
leave and two weeks of annual leave.
How
many weeks of leave are Tom and Lisa entitled to take?
A combined total of 12 weeks.
(For example, if Lisa takes eight weeks, then Tom would be entitled
to four weeks.)
How
much is paid and unpaid?
Lisa would be required to take her four weeks of sick leave first,
then her two weeks of annual leave - and then go on leave without
pay (LWOP) for the next two weeks.
Tom
would be required to take his two weeks of annual leave first and
then go on LWOP for the remaining two weeks. Tom is not eligible to
use sick leave.
(8 wks paid + 4 wks LWOP = 12 weeks total)
Example
2:
Mary
has been employed with LSUHSC since 1995. She is expecting a baby in
two months. She would like to take off work to establish a relationship
with her child after birth. She has accrued seven weeks of sick leave
and two weeks of annual leave.
Mary
can take off 12 weeks under FMLA.
Mary
will be allowed to take sick leave only until she is released from
her physician's care after childbirth. Any additional time off would
be taken as annual or leave without pay (LWOP).
For example, if Mary is released from her physician after six weeks,
she would be placed on annual leave. When her annual leave expires,
she would be placed on leave without pay (LWOP) until her twelve-week
entitlement expires.
