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HomeMy WebLinkAboutR-1731 - Relating to family and medical leave and amending Chapter VII Section 32 of the personnel rules of the City of Marysville..,- ./• "• CITY OF MARYSVILLE Marysville,Washington RESOLUTION NO.173 I A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF MARYSVILLE RELATING TO FAM- ILY AND MEIDCAL LEAVE AND AMENDING CHAPTER vii,SECTION 32 OF THE PERSONNEL RULES OF THE CITY OF MARYSVILLE. BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MARYS- VILLE,WASHINGTON AS FOLLOWS: Chapter VII,Section 32 of the Personnel Rules of the City of Marysville is hereby amended to read as follows: SECTION 32.FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE POLICY: a.Eligibility.Family and Medical Leave (FML)is for employees who have been employed one full year (12 consecu- tive calendar months)and for at least one thousand two hun- dred fifty (1250)hours.Leave for family and medical pur- poses shall be granted for up to twelve (12)weeks.Said leave is available to eligible employees: (1)for birth of a son or daughter,and to care for a newborn child within twelve (12)months of the birth event; (2)for placement with the employee of a son or daugh- ter for adoption or foster care,within twelve (12)months of the event; (3)to care for the employee's spouse,son,daughter, or parent with a serious health condition;and (4)because of a serious health condition that keeps the employee from performing the functions of the employee's job. b.Notice.Employees requesting Family and Medical Leave shall submit their request in writing to the Employer within two (2)days of becoming aware of the necessity,but at least thirty (30)days prior to the leave,except in an extreme emergency.Requests should first be submitted to a department head. FMLA.DOC Requests for medical leave should include a doctor's or other health care providers'documentation of the medical reason for the leave and the expected duration.The Depart- ment of Labor form shall be obtained from the Personnel Department.The department head shall,if he/she approves the request,forward the leave request to the City Adminis- trator for final approval.FML may be requested on an intermittent or reduced schedule basis when medical treat- ment so requires. -1- ..,. ., c.Maximum Leave Allowed.Unpaid Leave will be granted,up to a maximum of a twelve (12)week FML period, after the employee has exhausted all available accrued paid time off (i.e.,vacation,personal,sick,and compensatory time).Any such accrued paid leave and/or compensatory time shall be used at the beginning of the twelve (12)week total.(Example:twelve [12]week request,employee has two [2]weeks vacation and three [3]weeks sick leave.There- fore the balance of seven [7]weeks is unpaid FML). d.Benefits.FMLA is unpaid time;the employee shall not accrue any employee benefits during the leave period except continuation of "group health plan"benefits as dis- cussed below.The Employer shall maintain the employee's "group health plan"benefits during the period of leave, provided employee eligibility for the "group health plan"is otherwise met.To maintain eligibility,employees must remit to the Employer all of the employee's regular share of any "group health plan"premium cost before the first day of any month for which the employee is on FML.(See also Group Medical Benefits below.) e.Return From Leave.Upon completion of the Family and Medical Leave the employee shall be reinstated (see "Key Employee"below)to a position that is generally equivalent in content and compensation and within twenty (20)miles of the original workplace.An employee who is returning from FML for their own serious health condition must present doc- umentation in which a Health Care Provider certifies that the employee is fully released to perform all of their job duties. f.Fraudulently obtaining or using FML is prohibited and will result in the loss of all FML rights.Employees engaging in such fraud will be terminated immediately and an action for cost recovery will be commenced. g.FML Definitions: (1)12-month period - a "rolling"year,meaning the 12 months preceding the first date of the requested Leave. (2)Alternative position -in the event an employee request intermittent leave or a reduced leave schedule the employee may be required to temporarily transfer to an available alternate position on full or part-time basis or an alter ation of the employees position to accommodate the employee's request for FML. FMLA.DOC (3)Child -Biological,adopted,or foster child, -2- .''1 FMLA.DOC stepchild,a legal ward of de facto child,meaning any child who may not fit the above stated definitions,but for whom the employee is responsible as if he or she were a biological child.The child must be under the age of lB. (4)Continuing Treatment is: (i)treatment on two or more occasions by a health care provider or by a paraprofessional under the supervision of a health care pro vider; (ii)treatment on at least one occasion by a health care provider who thereafter supervises a regimen of continuing treatment (e.g.,a course of medication or therapy);or (iii)treatment in the course of a long-term or chronic condition or disability requiring the continuing supervision,but not active treatment,of a health care provider. (5)Employee's share of "group health plan"ore mium -for purposes of FML the employee's share of "group health plan"premium is the amount of money the employee normally contributes,through payroll deduction or otherwise,toward the cost of the cov- erage the employee,(and when applicable an employee's dependents)receives from the "group health plan".Employees are required to pay the employee's share during any period of FML at the same rate they would have paid had they been work- ing during the period of FML. (6)Health Care Provider - a doctor of medicine or osteopath who is authorized to practice medicine or surgery by the state in which the doctor practices. This also includes podiatrists,dentists,clinical psychologist,optometrists,chiropractors,nurse practitioners,nurse-midwives and Christian Scien- tist practitioners listed with the First Church of Christ. (7) Key Employee - a salaried employee who is among the highest paid 10 percent of all the employees employed within a 75-road mile radius of the employee's worksite at the time the request is made.Key employees need not be reinstated when a grievous harm could occur to the employer from such reinstatement.Key employees are eligible for all other FML provisions. (8)Parent -biological or de facto parent,mean -3- .- : ing a person who may not have been the employee's biological parent,but who was primary care giver to the employee as a child.Does not include a parent-in-law. (9)Spouse -legal spouse,which may include com- mon law spouse depending on state statutes,but does not include a domestic partner. (10)Serious Health Condition - (i)a condition which requires an overnight stay in a hospital,hospice,or residential medical facility; (ii)a condition requiring absence from work, school,or other regular daily activities for a period of more than three calendar days, and which requires "continuing treatment"by or under the supervision of a health care provider;or (iii)a condition requiring "continuing treatment"by or under the supervision of a health care provider for a chronic or long term health condition which,if not treated, would result in an absence of more than three days.Elective procedures or treatments are not included in this definition. h.Group Health Plan Benefits (Medical.Dental and Life Insurance Benefits).An employee's medical dental,and life insurance (group health plan)will continue as before the FML,provided,the employee continues to make any appli- cable "employee share"payments to the Employer or benefits administrator.Arrangements for payment should be made with the person at your employer who pays for or administers the group medical benefits.Employee share payments are due the first of each month.Failure to pay will result in cancel- lation of coverage causing you to be uninsured (see below). If an employee on FML fails to make any required employee share payments on the due date or within a 3D-day grace period of the due date,for the employee and/or dependents, coverage will be cancelled,and the employee and dependent will no longer be covered during the FML period.The Employer is entitled,by law,to recover from the employee using FML,the Employer cost of "group health plan"benefits the Employer has paid if the employee fails to promptly pay the "employee share"or terminates or fails to return to work after FML. If the Employer is required to make premium payments to retain an employee's "group health plan"eligibility upon FMLA.DOC -4- ·~0-,. " FMLA.DOC their return from FML the Employer may recover the full cost from the employee. For purposes of meeting the "hours of work or compensation" requirement of the "group health plan"each hour of FML that would have been worked or compensated "BUT FOR"the FML will be considered as an hour of "work or compensation"in meet- ing the "group health plan"eligibility requirements.Such FML "hours"will be combined with any actual hours worked or compensated during any month to provide an employee utiliz- ing FML the greatest opportunity to meet the eligibility requirement of the "group health plan." i.Special Circumstances 1.Department of Transportation (DOT)Employees whose position requires DOT certification must present appropriate documentation confirming that they could resume their job duties according to DOT guidelines. The employee cannot be restored to his/her position without the proper documentation. 2.Lay-Off During the FML.The Employer commits to restoring the employee to their same or equivalent job only if the employee would have been continuously employed during the FML period.In the event the employee's job is eliminated because of reorganization, budgetary considerations or a reduction in force during the FML,the employee will be provided for according to the Employer's policy or agreement regarding layoffs. 3.When Both Husband and Wife Work for The Same Employer.When both spouses are employees of the same employer and both are eligible for the Family Medical Leave,they are allowed to take a combined total of 12 weeks of leave during a 12-month period if the Leave is taken for the birth of a child,placements of an adop tive or a foster child,or to care for a parent with a serious illness.FML may not be used to care for a parent-in-law. When a wife and husband both use a portion of the total 12 week Leave entitlement for one of the purposes stated above,each would be entitled to the difference between the amount he or she has taken individually and 12 weeks of FML to care for a spouse or child,or for the employee's own serious health condition. 4.Employee Returns After 12-Week Limit.An employee who returns after a FML for his/her own seri- ous medical condition of longer than 12 weeks and who has been replaced,will be offered any appropriate and available open job for which he or she is qualified and -5- "," that is as reasonably close to his or her previous job. If an offer of another position is declined,the employee is then considered to be terminating employ ment voluntarily.If no position is available,the employee is terminated. The employer will hold the employees'position "open" (i.e.,not permanently replaced)while the employee is on FML for up to 12 weeks.When it is certain that an employee is to be away from the job more than twelve weeks,the position may be filled immediately.If the estimated time of return to the job is twelve weeks or less the job may be filled on a temporary basis. 5.Resignation During FML.In the event the employee resigns during the FML,they will be consid ered to have voluntarily terminated employment.Upon termination the employee's right to FML,"group health plan"benefits and reinstatement ceases.The supervi sor may permanently replace the employee immediately. After termination you may be eligible for COBRA continuation of "group health plan"benefits to be fully paid for by the employee. j.Other Special Situations.Other individual situa- tions may develop that are not covered in this policy.The Employer will evaluate each situation on a case by case basis according to law.FML is in addition to a period of disability attributed to childbirth or pregnancy. PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL AND APPROVED BY THE MAYOR THIS ::;0 ~DAY OF ~,1995. CITY zr::VILLE By ;/~ David Weiser,Mayor Approved as to form: ~~-&.4!d~Grant Weed,City Attorney FMLA.DOC -6-