Family and Medical Leave (S-26)

Standard: S-26
Responsible Executive: Vice President for Human Resources
Responsible Office: Office of the Vice President for Human Resources
Date Issued: January 2, 2024
Date Last Revised: N/A

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contacts
Individuals and Entities Affected by this Standard
Statement of Standard
Responsibilities
Definitions (defined terms are capitalized throughout the document)
Related Documents, Forms and Tools
History and Updates
Appendix

CONTACTS

INDIVIDUALS AND ENTITIES AFFECTED BY THIS STANDARD

All units, faculty and staff of Purdue University.

STATEMENT OF STANDARD

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal regulation that grants Eligible Employees the right to take 12 workweeks of job-protected leave over a 12-month period for FMLA covered medical and family reasons. An employee is eligible for up to 26 workweeks of leave in a single 12-month period to care for a Covered Servicemember, limited to a combined total of 26 workweeks for all types of FMLA leave.

Purdue University will grant an Eligible Employee 12 workweeks of FMLA leave (based on the employee’s actual workweek) over a 12-month rolling calendar that begins on the date the leave commences for the following reasons:

• A Serious Health Condition that makes the employee unable to perform one or more of the essential functions of the employee's job, as certified by their Health Care Provider.
• The birth of the employee’s Son or Daughter.
• Placement with the employee of a Son or Daughter for adoption or foster care (including related court appearances, consultations with attorneys, and counseling sessions).
• To care for a Son or Daughter during the first 12 months following birth or placement.
• To care for the employee’s Spouse, Son, Daughter, or Parent with a Serious Health Condition, as certified by the Family Member’s Health Care Provider.
• Any Qualifying Exigency arising out of the fact that the employee’s Spouse, Son, Daughter, or Parent is a Covered Military Member on Covered Active Duty (or has been notified of an impending call or order to Covered Active Duty) in the Armed Forces.

The University will grant an Eligible Employee 26 workweeks of leave (based on the employee’s actual workweek) over a Single 12-month Period (see definition) to care for a Covered Servicemember with a Serious Injury or Illness if the employee is the Spouse, Son, Daughter, Parent, or Next of Kin of the Covered Servicemember. An Eligible Employee who is granted leave to care for a Covered Servicemember is limited to a combined total of 26 workweeks for all types of FMLA leave.

Spouses who are both employed by Purdue University will each be allowed 12 workweeks of leave during the 12-month period in which the leave is taken when such leave is (1) for birth of their Son or Daughter, (2) for placement with them of a Son or Daughter for adoption or foster care, or (3) to care for a Son or Daughter during the 12 months following birth or placement.

FMLA leave is not paid leave. The University requires the use of any accrued paid sick leave to be used concurrently when FMLA is used for a reason that corresponds with the use of sick leave as explained in the Leaves of Absence (VI.E.2) policy. The use of any accrued paid vacation and paid personal business leave may be used concurrently with FMLA at the employee’s discretion.

For certain FMLA-qualifying reasons, Eligible Employees may take Intermittent or Reduced Schedule Leave as outlined in the Operating Procedures for FMLA Leaves.

FMLA leave will not be used as a negative factor in employment actions, such as hiring, promotions, disciplinary actions, or under attendance policies.

All medical information relating to FMLA leaves, whether verbal or written, will be kept confidential to the maximum extent possible. All medical documents and information including, but not limited to, medical certifications must be maintained in confidential, secure files within Human Resources separate from personnel files.

The University coordinates FMLA leave with other applicable federal laws, including but not limited to the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Pregnant Worker’s Fairness Act, and with applicable state laws.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Employees

• Provide notification of FMLA leave in accordance with this policy.
• Follow departmental call-in and reporting procedures and designate Intermittent Leave at the time of usage.
• Fully complete and submit all required forms and/or certifications within the specified time frames.
• Use any applicable paid leave time in accordance with this policy.
• Pay their portion of group health insurance premiums while on unpaid FMLA leave.
• Cooperate with Human Resources to record absences accurately.
• Contact Human Resources if the state where the employee works is other than Indiana so a determination can be made on whether other state or local family and medical leave laws apply.

Human Resources

• Administer this policy.
• Maintain and make available all forms and supporting information associated with this policy, including the Operating Procedures for FMLA Leave.
• Assist supervisors and employees with issues related to FMLA leave.
• Determine whether an event qualifies for FMLA leave.
• Coordinate between this policy and other federal, state, and local laws related to employee leaves.
• Review all leave time (paid and unpaid) used in conjunction with FMLA leave to ensure it is recorded accurately.
• Review all forms, certifications, and other documentation relative to an Eligible Employee’s FMLA leave for adherence to this policy and maintain records accordingly.

Supervisors

• Promptly report to Human Resources any employee absence that may qualify under FMLA.
• Maintain communication with Human Resources regarding the status of an employee’s FMLA leave.
• Forward all completed forms and certifications and supporting documentation received from an employee to Human Resources. Do not keep anything with medical information in departmental files.
• Review all employee leave time (paid and unpaid) used in conjunction with FMLA leave to ensure it is recorded accurately.

DEFINITIONS

All defined terms are capitalized throughout the document. Refer to the central Policy Glossary for additional defined terms.

Covered Active Duty
In the case of a member of the regular component of the Armed Forces, duty during the deployment of the member with the Armed Forces to a foreign country. In the case of a member of a Reserve component of the Armed Forces, duty during the deployment of the member with the Armed Forces to a foreign country under a call or order to active duty.

Covered Military Member
The Eligible Employee’s Spouse, Son, Daughter, or Parent on Covered Active Duty or call to Covered Active Duty status.

Covered Servicemember
A member of the Armed Forces, including a member of the National Guard or Reserves, who is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy; is otherwise in outpatient status; or is otherwise on the temporary disability retired list for a Serious Injury or Illness; or, a veteran who is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy for a Serious Injury or Illness and who was a member of the Armed Forces, including a member of the National Guard or Reserves, at any time during the five years preceding the date on which the veteran undergoes that medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy, unless dishonorably discharged.

Eligible Employee
An employee who has been employed by the University for at least 12 months, consecutively or non-consecutively, and has worked at least 1,250 hours during the 12-month period preceding the date FMLA leave commences. If an employee is maintained on the payroll for any part of a week (including periods of paid or unpaid leave) during which they are covered by University-provided benefits (e.g., worker’s compensation, group health plan benefits, etc.), then the week counts toward the 12-month eligibility requirement. Only hours actually worked are counted toward satisfaction of the 1,250 hours requirement. Employment periods prior to a break in service of seven years or more are not be counted in determining whether the employee has been employed by the University for at least 12 months. If the break in service is occasioned by the fulfillment of the employee’s National Guard or Reserve military service obligation, the time served performing the military service will be counted in determining whether the employee has been employed by the University for at least 12 months.

Family and Medical Leave Act or FMLA
The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, 29 U.S.C. § 2611 et. seq.

Family Member
A Son, Daughter, Spouse, or Parent (see respective definitions).

Health Care Provider
A doctor of medicine or osteopathy who is authorized to practice medicine or surgery as appropriate by the state in which the doctor practices; or others capable of performing health care services, including: a) 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 as defined under state law; b) nurse practitioners, nurse-midwives, clinical social workers, and physician assistants who are authorized to practice under state law and who are performing within the scope of their practice as defined under state law; c) Christian Science practitioners listed with the First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts; d) any Health Care Provider from whom the University or the University's group health plan's benefits manager will accept certification of the existence of a Serious Health Condition to substantiate a claim for benefits; and e) a Health Care Provider as defined above who practices in a country other than the United States, who is licensed to practice in accordance with the laws and regulations of that country, and who is performing within the scope of their practice as defined by law.

Intermittent Leave
FMLA leave taken in separate blocks of time due to a single qualifying reason as defined by the Health Care Provider.

Key Employee
A salaried Eligible Employee who is among the highest paid 10 percent of all the employees of Purdue University within 75 miles of the Eligible Employee’s campus at the time FLMA leave is requested.

Next of Kin of a Covered Servicemember
The nearest blood relative other than the Covered Servicemember’s Spouse, Parent, Son, or Daughter, in the following order of priority: blood relatives who have been granted legal custody of the Covered Servicemember by court decree or statutory provisions, brothers and sisters, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and first cousins, unless the Covered Servicemember has specifically designated in writing another blood relative for purposes of military caregiver leave under the FMLA. When such designation has been made, the designated individual will be deemed to be the Covered Servicemember’s only Next of Kin. When no designation is made, and there are multiple Family Members with the same level of relationship to the Covered Servicemember, all such Family Members will be considered the Covered Servicemember’s Next of Kin and may take FMLA leave to provide care to the Covered Servicemember, either consecutively or simultaneously.

Parent
A biological, adoptive, step, or foster father or mother, or any other individual who stood in loco parentis to the Eligible Employee when they were a Son or Daughter. The term does not include parents “in-law.”

Parent of a Covered Servicemember
A Covered Servicemember’s biological, adoptive, step, or foster father or mother, or any other individual who stood in loco parentis to the Covered Servicemember when they were a Son or Daughter. This term does not include parents “in-law.”

Qualifying Exigency
The following eight situations constitute a Qualifying Exigency: 1) short-notice deployment; 2) military events and related activities; 3) childcare and school activities; 4) financial and legal arrangements; 5) counseling; 6) rest and recuperation; 7) post-deployment activities; 8) additional activities to address other events that arise out of the Covered Military Member’s Covered Active Duty or call to Covered Active Duty status, provided the University and Eligible Employee agree that the leave is a Qualifying Exigency and agree to both the timing and duration of such leave.

Reduced Schedule Leave
A leave schedule that reduces an Eligible Employee’s usual number of working hours per workweek or hours per workday as outlined by the Health Care Provider.

Serious Health Condition
An illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves a) inpatient care (i.e., an overnight stay) in a hospital, hospice, or residential medical care facility, including any period of incapacity (for purposes of this policy, defined to mean inability to work, attend school, or perform other daily regular activities due to the Serious Health Condition, treatment therefore, or recovery therefrom), or any subsequent treatment in connection with such inpatient care; or b) continuing treatment by a Health Care Provider.

A Serious Health Condition involving continuing treatment by a Health Care Provider includes any one or more of the following:

• A period of incapacity and treatment (i.e., inability to work, attend school, or perform other regular daily activities due to the Serious Health Condition, treatment therefore, or recovery therefrom) of more than three consecutive, full calendar days, including any subsequent treatment or period of incapacity relating to the same condition, that also involves:
  
  
  1. treatment two or more times within 30 days of the first day of incapacity, unless extenuating circumstances exist, by a Health Care Provider, by a nurse or physician assistant under direct supervision of a Health Care Provider, or by a provider of health care services (e.g., physical therapist) under orders of, or on referral by, a Health Care Provider; or
  2. treatment by a Health Care Provider on at least one occasion, which results in a regimen of continuing treatment under the supervision of the Health Care Provider.
  
  The treatment referenced in paragraphs (1) and (2) must be in-person visits to a Health Care Provider. The first (or only) in-person treatment visit must take place within seven days of the first day of incapacity.

• Any period of incapacity due to pregnancy or for prenatal care.
• Any period of incapacity or treatment for such incapacity due to a chronic Serious Health Condition. A chronic Serious Health Condition is one that:
  
  
  1. requires periodic visits (defined as at least twice a year) for treatment by a Health Care Provider, or by a nurse or physician assistant under direct supervision of a Health Care Provider;
  2. continues over an extended period of time (including recurring episodes of a single underlying condition); and
  3. may cause episodic rather than a continuing period of incapacity (e.g., asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, etc.)
     
     
• A period of incapacity that is permanent or long-term due to a condition for which treatment may not be effective. The Eligible Employee or Family Member must be under the continuing supervision of, but need not be receiving active treatment by, a Health Care Provider. Examples include Alzheimer's, a severe stroke, or the terminal stages of a disease.
• Any period of absence to receive multiple treatments (including any period of recovery therefrom) by a Health Care Provider or by a provider of health care services under orders of, or on referral by, a Health Care Provider, either for restorative surgery after an accident or other injury or for a condition that would likely result in a period of incapacity of more than three consecutive, full calendar days in the absence of medical intervention or treatment. Examples include cancer (chemotherapy, radiation, etc.), severe arthritis (physical therapy), or kidney disease (dialysis).

For the purposes of this definition, treatment includes, but is not limited to, examinations to determine if a Serious Health Condition exists and evaluations of the condition. Treatment does not include routine physical examinations, eye examinations, or dental examinations. A regimen of continuing treatment may include, for example, a course of prescription medication. A regimen of continuing treatment that includes the taking of over-the-counter medications, such as aspirin or antihistamines, or bed rest, exercise, or other similar activities that can be initiated without a visit to a Health Care Provider, is not, by itself, sufficient to constitute a regimen of continuing treatment for purposes of FMLA leave.

Examples of conditions that do not meet the definition of a Serious Health Condition and do not qualify for FMLA leave include:

• Conditions for which cosmetic treatments are administered (such as most treatments for acne or plastic surgery), unless inpatient hospital care is required or unless complications develop.
• Ordinarily, unless complications arise, the common cold, the flu, earaches, upset stomach, ulcers, headaches other than migraine, routine dental or orthodontia problems, etc.

Substance abuse may be a Serious Health Condition if the conditions of this section are met. However, FMLA leave may only be taken for treatment for substance abuse by a Health Care Provider or by a provider of health care services on referral by a Health Care Provider. Absence because of the Eligible Employee’s use of the substance, rather than for treatment, does not qualify for FMLA leave. 

Absences attributable to incapacity due to pregnancy or a chronic Serious Health Condition may qualify for FMLA leave even though the Eligible Employee or the Covered Family Member does not receive treatment from a Health Care Provider during the absence, and even if the absence does not last more than three consecutive, full calendar days. For example, an Eligible Employee with asthma may be unable to report for work due to the onset of an asthma attack or because the Eligible Employee’s Health Care Provider has advised the employee to stay home when the pollen count exceeds a certain level. An Eligible Employee who is pregnant may be unable to report to work because of severe morning sickness. 

Serious Injury or Illness
In the case of a Covered Servicemember, an injury or illness incurred by the Covered Servicemember in the line of duty on Covered Active Duty (or that existed before the beginning of the member’s Covered Active Duty and was aggravated by service in the line of duty on Covered Active Duty in the Armed Forces) that may render the Covered Servicemember medically unfit to perform the duties of their office, grade, rank, or rating.

In the case of a veteran Covered Servicemember, injury or illness that was incurred by the member in the line of duty on Covered Active Duty in the Armed Forces (or existed before the beginning of the member’s Covered Active Duty and was aggravated by service in the line of duty on Covered Active Duty) and that manifested itself before or after the member became a veteran.

Single 12-Month Period
The time period beginning on the first day the Eligible Employee takes FMLA leave to care for a Covered Servicemember and ending 12 months after that date, regardless of the rolling calendar method used by the University to calculate the employee’s 12 workweeks of leave entitlement for other FMLA qualifying reasons. If an Eligible Employee does not take all of their 26 workweeks of leave entitlement to care for a Covered Servicemember during the Single 12-Month Period, the remaining time is forfeited.

Son or Daughter
For purposes of FMLA leave taken for birth, adoption, or to care for a Family Member with a Serious Health Condition, an Eligible Employee’s biological, adopted, or foster child; a stepchild; a legal ward; or a child for whom the employee is standing in loco parentis who is either under age 18 or incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability (as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act) at the time that FMLA leave is to commence.

Son or Daughter on Active Duty or Call to Active Duty Status
The Eligible Employee’s biological, adopted, or foster child; stepchild; legal ward; or a child for whom the employee stood in loco parentis who is on Covered Active Duty or call to Covered Active Duty status and who is of any age.

Son or Daughter of a Covered Servicemember
The Covered Servicemember’s biological, adopted, or foster child; stepchild; legal ward; or a child for whom the Covered Servicemember stood in loco parentis and who is of any age.

Spouse
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.

RELATED DOCUMENTS, FORMS AND TOOLS

This standard is issued in support of the policy on Leaves of Absence (VI.E.2), as amended or superseded.

Operating Procedures for FMLA Leave

Paid Parental Leave (VI.E.3)

The following FMLA documents and forms are available on the Human Resources website:

• Request and Notice of Rights and Responsibilities
• Employee Information Sheet
• Medical Certification Form
• Certification of Qualifying Exigency for Military Family Leave
• Certification for Serious Injury or Illness of Covered Service member

The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, Title 29, Part 825 of the Code of Federal Regulations

HISTORY AND UPDATES

January 2, 2024: This standard supersedes policy VI.E.1 on the same subject. Changes from the policy include 1) clarification that workweeks for leave are based on the employee’s actual workweek; 2) removal of the requirement that spouses both employed at Purdue share 12 workweeks of FMLA for birth, adoption, or foster placement; and 3) responsibilities for ensuring coordination between this policy and other relevant federal, state and local laws.

APPENDIX

There are no appendices to this standard.