Clark County School District - Human Resources Division Family and Medical Leave Act
The Family and Medical Leave Act became effective for most employers on August 5, 1993. The FMLA allows an eligible employee to take up to twelve weeks of leave for certain family and medical needs. The purpose of the act was to balance the demands of the workplace with the needs of families. The FMLA is both intended and expected to be a benefit to employers as well as their employees.
The Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment Standards Administration (click here to visit website) administers and enforces FMLA for all private, State and local government employees, and some federal employees.
Special rules apply to employees of local education agencies. Generally, these rules provide for FMLA leave to be taken in blocks of time when the leave is needed intermittently or when leave is required near the end of a school term (semester).
An eligible employee must have been employed by the Clark County School District for at least twelve months and have worked 1,250 hours of service during the 12-month period immediately preceding the commencement of the leave.
Reason for leave1) For the birth and care of the newborn child of an employee;
2) For placement with the employee of a child for adoption or foster care;
3) To care for an immediate family member (spouse, child or parent) with a serious health condition; or
4) To take medical leave when the employee is unable to work because of a serious health condition.
DEFINITIONSSpouse means a husband or wife as defined or recognized under state law for purposes of marriage in the state where the employee resides, including common law marriage in states where it is recognized. Please note Nevada does not recognize common law marriage.
Son/daughter means a biological, adopted or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward or a child of a person standing in loco parentis, who is either under the age of 18, or age 18 or older and incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability that limits one or more of the “major life activities” as those terms are defined in regulations issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Parent means a biological parent or an individual who stands or stood in loco parentis to an employee when the employee was a son or daughter as defined above. The term parent does not include a parent “in-law”.
Key employee is a salaried FMLA-eligible employee who is among the highest paid 10% of all the employees employed by the employer.
"Serious health condition" means an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves:
• any period of incapacity or treatment connected with inpatient care (i.e., an overnight stay) in a hospital, hospice, or residential medical-care facility, or
• a period of incapacity requiring absence of more than three calendar days from work, school, or other regular daily activities that also involves continuing treatment by (or under the supervision of) a health care provider; or
• any period of incapacity due to pregnancy, or for prenatal care; or
• and any period of incapacity (or treatment therefore) due to a chronic serious health condition (e.g., asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, etc.); or
• a period of incapacity that is permanent or long-term due to a condition for which treatment may not be effective (e.g., Alzheimer’s, stroke, terminal diseases, etc.); or
• any absences to receive multiple treatments (including any period of recovery there from) by, or on referral by, a health care provider for a condition that likely would result in incapacity of more than three consecutive days if left untreated (e.g., chemotherapy, physical therapy, dialysis, etc.)." Health care provider" means:
• doctors of medicine or osteopathy authorized to practice medicine or surgery by the state in which the doctors practices;
• podiatrists, dentists, clinical psychologists, optometrists and chiropractors (limited to treatment consisting of manual manipulation of the spine to correct a subluxation as demonstrated by X-ray to exist) authorized to practice in the State and performing within the scope of their practice under State law;
• nurse practitioners, nurse-midwives and clinical social workers authorized to practice, under State law and performing within the scope of their practice as defined under State law;
• Christian Science practitioners listed with the First Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston, Massachusetts;
• any health care provider recognized by the employer or the employer's group health plan’s benefits manager; and,
• a health care provider listed above who practices in a country other than the United States and who is authorized to practice under the laws of that country.
Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
Q: How much leave am I entitled to under FMLA?A) If you are an "eligible" employee, you are entitled to 12 weeks of leave for certain family and medical reasons during a 12-month period.
Q: How is the 12-month period calculated under FMLA?
A) The Clark County School District uses a “rolling year”. Meaning a 12-month period measured backward from the date an employee uses FMLA leave.
Q: Do the 1,250 hours include paid leave time or other absences from work?
A) No. The 1,250 hours include only those hours actually worked for the employer. Paid leave and unpaid leave, including FMLA leave, are not included.
Q: Does the law guarantee paid time off?
A) No. The FMLA only requires unpaid leave. However, the law permits an employee to elect, or the employer to require the employee, to use accrued paid leave, such as vacation or sick leave, for some or all of the FMLA leave period.
Q: Who is considered an immediate “family member” for the purposes of taking FMLA leave?
A) An employee’s spouse, children (son or daughter), and parents are immediate family members for purposes of FMLA. The term “parent” does not include a parent “in-law”. The terms son or daughter do not include individuals age 18 or over unless they are “incapable of self care” because of mental or physical disability that limits one or more of the “major life activities” as those terms are defined in regulations issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Q: Does workers’ compensation leave count against an employee’s FMLA leave entitlement?
A) Yes. FMLA leave and workers’ compensation leave can run together, provided the reason for the absence is due to a qualifying serious illness or injury and the employer properly notifies the employee in writing that the leave will be counted as FMLA leave.
Q: Can the employer count leave taken due to pregnancy complications against the 12 weeks of FMLA leave for the birth and care of my child?
A) Yes. An eligible employee is entitled to a total of 12 weeks of FMLA leave in a 12-month period. If the employee has to use some of that leave for another reason, including a difficult pregnancy, it may be counted as part of the 12-week FMLA leave entitlement.
Q: Can the employer count time on maternity leave or pregnancy disability as FMLA leave?
A) Yes. Pregnancy disability leave or maternity leave for the birth of a child would be considered qualifying FMLA leave for a serious health condition and may be counted in the 12 weeks of leave so long as the employer properly notifies the employee in writing of the designation.
Q: How much accrued sick leave can be used for the purpose of giving birth?
A) As per the respective negotiated agreements for each bargaining group you are entitled to access sick leave for the first six weeks immediately surrounding the birth of your child.
Q: If an employer fails to tell employees that the leave is FMLA leave, can the employer count the time they have already been off against the 12 weeks of FMLA leave?
A) In most situations, the employer cannot count leave as FMLA leave retroactively. Remember, the employee must be notified in writing that an absence is being designated as FMLA leave. If the employer was not aware of the reason for the leave, leave may be designated as FMLA leave retroactively only while the leave is in progress or within two business days of the employee’s return to work.
Q: Will I lose my job if I take FMLA leave?
A) Generally, no. It is unlawful for any employer to interfere with or restrain or deny the exercise of any right provided under this law. Employers cannot use the taking of FMLA leave as a negative factor in employment actions, such as hiring, promotions or disciplinary actions; nor can FMLA leave be counted under "no fault" attendance policies. Under limited circumstances, an employer may deny reinstatement to work - but not the use of FMLA leave - to certain highly-paid, salaried ("key") employees.
Q: Are there other circumstances in which my employer can deny me FMLA leave or reinstatement to my job?
A) In addition to denying reinstatement in certain circumstances to "key" employees, employers are not required to continue FMLA benefits or reinstate employees who would have been laid off or otherwise had their employment terminated had they continued to work during the FMLA leave period as, for example, due to a general layoff.
Employees who give unequivocal notice that they do not intend to return to work lose their entitlement to FMLA leave.
Employees who are unable to return to work and have exhausted their 12 weeks of FMLA leave in the designated "12 month period" no longer have FMLA protections of leave or job restoration.
Under certain circumstances, employers who advise employees experiencing a serious health condition that they will require a medical certificate of fitness for duty to return to work, may deny reinstatement to an employee who fails to provide the certification, or may delay reinstatement until the certification is submitted.Q: Can my employer fire me for complaining about a violation of FMLA?
A) No. Nor can the employer take any other adverse employment action on this basis. It is unlawful for any employer to discharge or otherwise discriminate against an employee for opposing a practice made unlawful under FMLA.
Q: Under what circumstances is leave designated as FMLA leave and counted against the employee's total entitlement?
A) In all circumstances, it is the employer's responsibility to designate leave taken for an FMLA reason as FMLA leave. The designation must be based upon information furnished by the employee. Leave may not be designated as FMLA leave after the leave has been completed and the employee has returned to work, except if;
• the employer is awaiting receipt of the medical certification to confirm the existence of a serious health condition;
• the employer was unaware that leave was for an FMLA reason, and subsequently acquires information from the employee such as when the employee requests additional or extensions of leave; or,
• the employer was unaware that the leave was for an FMLA reason, and the employee notifies the employer within two days after return to work that the leave was FMLA leave.
For information regarding FML or to obtain a leave request packet, please contact the following telephone numbers for assistance.Licensed/Unified Family Medical Leave - Toni Thomas 799-0099
Support Staff Family Medical Leave for names beginning A-L -Leah Rhodus 799-5325
Support Staff Family Medical Leave for names beginning M-Z - Dianne Sciacca 799-5065
Benefits Manager - Nick Venturini 799-5418
