Managing FMLA in School Districts
Understanding the regulations and compliance requirements of the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) as the various leaves that run concurrently is a challenge for any organization. However, it is most complicated for school districts to manage medical leaves and compliance with the FMLA without violating one of the many policies that govern leaves and absences within a district.
School districts have to integrate their leave policies to reflect the regulations and benefits of their districts' union, board, administration, and education code. If absence leaves and time off is not applied consistently to all employees, districts could be in violation of policies or employee-perceived discrimination.
FMLA Eligibility
A common violation employers make regarding FMLA compliance is unknowingly denying leave to eligible employees. Eligible employees must meet the following criteria: employed with the company for 12 months; worked a minimum of 1,250 hours in the previous consecutive 12 months; and, the employee has not already used the 12 available weeks of leave. Many times, this issue is due to inaccurate time recording of employee work hours and time off.
Today, many employers use workforce management software to manage all aspects of employee time to accurately record all hours worked, all types of time off, including vacation, bereavement, FMLA leave, worker’s compensation, etc. By tracking and storing this information, the employer has the necessary documentation to meet federal and state compliance regulations, as the employer must keep this information for three years.
Many workforce management systems automate the attendance process and monitor conditions that can alert managers of possible FMLA scenarios while they are developing. This helps lower absence costs and simplifies the management of FMLA events.
FMLA provides for up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave each year for any of the following reasons for eligible employees:
- The birth and care of the newborn child of the employee
- The placement with the employee of a child for adoption or foster care
- To care for an immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent) with a serious health condition
- To take medical leave when the employee is unable to work because of a serious health condition
The Caregiver Military Leave provides up to 26 weeks of unpaid leave within a 12-month period to care for a spouse, son, daughter, parent, or nearest blood relative caring for a recovering service member. All of the FMLA eligibility requirements and provisions hold true for the Caregiver Military Leave.
Managing Concurrent Leaves
Here is a list of common leaves of absence that can run concurrently for any organization:
- FMLA
- California Family Rights Act (CFRA)
- Worker’s Compensation
- Pregnancy Disability Leave
- SDI - Paid Family Leave, if applicable
- American’s with Disabilities Act (ADA)
- Fair Employment Housing Act (FEHA)
In addition to the list above, school districts include the following leaves of absence as it pertains to each district’s education code and their certified and classified employees:
- Industrial Accident Leave
- Sick Leave
- Vacation Leave
- Personal Necessity Leaves
- Differential Pay (i.e. employee salary minus substitute pay)
- Pregnancy Leave
- Non-industrial Accident/Illness
- 39-month Re-Employment List
All of these leave benefits vary by district and union contracts and certified versus classified employee status. For example, some states or districts allow 12 months of leave after a pregnancy, or vacation can be used separately from medical leave. There are a lot of variances between districts, so it is important to know your districts policies and create one integrated policy. This is where technology can help manage leave.
How can school districts manage FMLA easily?
Easily? That may be a bit of stretch, but it can be managed with some methods easier than other methods. Many districts have turned to technology and implemented workforce management software to help manage FMLA. Workforce management software helps employees and employers manage the complex details of FMLA tracking.
Here are a few issues districts face when it comes to FMLA and how workforce management software helps solve these issues.
The district needs to manage numerous absence leaves concurrently
Software Solution: Workforce management software automates all the district’s rules to ensure consistent policies are enforced and that an employee does not receive 12 weeks of leave for each qualified occurrence within 12 months.
HR needs to submit FMLA requests
Software Solution: Workforce management software offers employee self-service functionality for time-off requests that may qualify for FMLA
Employees need to submit FMLA requests
Software Solution: Workforce management software offers employee self-service functionality for time-off requests that may qualify for FMLA
Insufficient monitoring & alerts of possible FMLA scenarios
Software Solution: Workforce management software pre-defines alerts to notify managers and HR of possible FMLA
Employees need to submit documentation & fill out forms for FMLA leave
Solution: Workforce management software electronically alerts HR to an FMLA request, so the proper forms are routed to the employee
Only employees who worked 1,250 hours in the last 12-months, and worked for the district for 12 months, are eligible
Solution: Workforce management software automatically verifies employee FMLA eligibility, and issues a warning when the employee is not eligible
