Work-Life

Child Care Information - Family and Medical Leave Top 10 FAQ from Expecting Parents

  1. What is Family and Medical Leave (FML)?
  2. Who is eligible to take FML?
  3. What is a qualifying event?
  4. May an employee take intermittent or reduced schedule leave for prenatal care?
  5. May an employee take intermittent or reduced schedule leave for postnatal care?
  6. May a father of a newborn child take FML too?
  7. How do I apply for FML?
  8. How do I get paid (versus being unpaid) while using FML?
  9. If both husband and wife are UK employees, are they each eligible for 12 weeks of FML per 12 month period?
  10. What if I do not return to work after being on FML?
  1. What is Family and Medical Leave?

    Family and Medical Leave (FML) is a federal law which allows unpaid leave for up to 12 work weeks in a 12 month period for a qualifying event for eligible University employees. FML provides job protection for employees who take this leave. Complete information on FML may be found in Human Resources Policy Number 88, Family and Medical Leave and, for faculty, in AR II-I.1-12.

  2. Who is eligible to take Family and Medical Leave?

    University employees (faculty, staff, student, regular or temporary) who have been employed by the University for at least 12 months (not necessarily consecutively) AND who have worked for at least 1,250 hours in the previous 12 month period.

  3. What is a qualifying event?
    1. The birth of a child and the care of the newborn child.
    2. The placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care.
    3. The care of a spouse, child or parent of the employee who has a serious health condition.
    4. A serious health condition of the employee that makes the employee unable to perform the essential functions of the job.

  4. May an employee take intermittent or reduced schedule leave for prenatal care?

    Yes, because prenatal care is determined to be a serious health condition under the FML definition. In fact, all prenatal physician visits taken during working hours must be reported as FML.

  5. May an employee take intermittent or reduced schedule leave for postnatal care?

    Yes. Leave taken for childbirth or placement may be taken intermittently or on a reduced schedule, with the approval of the department head. Leave taken for childbirth on an intermittent or reduced schedule shall be taken after the presumed six-week recovery period. In addition, leave for childbirth, foster care or adoption must be taken within 12 months of the date of the birth or placement of the child.

  6. May a father of a newborn child take FML too?

    Yes. The father may take FML for the birth of a child and to care for that child or for the placement of a child for adoption or foster care.

  7. How do I apply for Family and Medical Leave?

    1. Fill out Part I of the Request for Family and Medical Leave form and have your appropriate health care provider fill out Part II of the Request for Family and Medical Leave Form. Turn these forms into your supervisor 30 days prior to using FML whenever possible. You must provide medical substantiation of an FML absence within 15 calendar days after notifying your supervisor of the need for FML.
    2. Even if you do not apply for FML, your supervisor may place you on Family and Medical Leave when s/he knows you have a qualifying event. By University policy, it is the responsibility of management to place an employee on FML when there is a qualifying event. It is not the employee's choice to decline using FML. The employee is required to cooperate by providing appropriate medical substantiation.

  8. How do I get paid (versus being unpaid) while using Family Medical Leave?

    You are paid in conjunction with the University policies on temporary disability leave and/or vacation leave. Refer to Human Resources (HR) Policy Number 82, Temporary Disability Leave and HR Policy Number 80, Vacation Leave. You are paid only if you have appropriate accrued temporary disability leave or vacation leave days. If not, the FML will be without pay. Under University policy, an employee may use a limited number of their own temporary disability leave days to care for certain family members. Faculty employees should refer to appropriate faculty regulations regarding sick leave pay.

  9. If both husband and wife are UK employees, are they each eligible for 12 weeks of FML per 12 month period?

    Sometimes, but not always. When it is for their own serious health condition or for the serious health condition of their spouse or child, they may each take 12 weeks of FML. However, in cases where a husband and wife are employees and employed in the same department, they may be required to share, at the discretion of the department, the 12 week FMLA entitlement for purposes of childbirth and/or adoption/foster care.

  10. What if I do not return to work after being on Family Medical Leave?

    You must repay any health insurance premiums the University paid for you unless you do not return to work due to a continuation of your serious health condition or if other circumstances occur which are beyond your control.