Family and Medical Leave (FML)

Employees and educational trainees are eligible for FML when they meet all of the following:

• Worked for MD Anderson (or other State of Texas agency or institution) for at least 12 months. The 12-month employment requirement does not have to be consecutive;
• Earned at least 1,250 hours of service at MD Anderson (or other State of Texas agency or institution) in the 12 months before taking leave;* and 
• Work at a location where MD Anderson has at least 50 employees within 75 miles of the employee's worksite.
  
• Educational trainees should read ACA0100 Family and Medical Leave Policy for Trainees for additional details. 

*Special "hours of service" requirements applies to airline flight crew employees.

MD Anderson uses the "rolling calendar" method e.g., a twelve month period is measured backward from the requested leave start date.

STEP 1: NOTIFY MANAGER 

• Do not discuss medical information with your manager.
• If the need is foreseeable, give your manager 30 days notice.
• If the need is not foreseeable, notify your manager within one to two working days once you are aware of the need to take leave.
• If the leave is for planned appointments, treatments or requires intermittent or reduced schedule leave, you must notify your manager and be prepared to be flexible with integrating your FML absence into the unit’s work schedule when possible.

STEP 2: REQUEST FML FROM HR LEAVE & ACCOMMODATIONS

Employee's Responsibilities

• Contact HR Leave & Accommodations or 713-745-3652 to request FML.
• Work with HR Leave & Accommodations (and your manager as needed) to discuss required documentation and next steps. 
• Contact HR Leave & Accommodations to provide accurate and complete information. 
• If you are incapacitated, your designee may call to initiate the leave request on your behalf.
• Follow departmental call-in procedures.

Manager's Responsibilities

• Ensure the employee has contacted HR Leave & Accommodations or 713-745-3652 to request FML. You can use the Extended Leave Case Summary dataview as confirmation.
• Contact HR Leave & Accommodations to report the absence if the employee is not listed on the Extended Leave Case Summary dataview after 4 days of absences. 
• Contact HR Leave & Accommodations if the employee is not able to do so due to their incapacity. If the employee is not incapacitated and does not contact HR Leave & Accommodations, it will be considered a violation of the FML policy. If you are contacted by the employee's designee, instruct the designee to contact HR Leave & Accommodations.

STEP 3: PRELIMINARY APPROVAL
A preliminary approval or denial notice will be sent to the employee within 5 business days of the FML request. The notice will include a medical certification form to complete if applicable.

HR Leave & Accommodations will preliminarily approve the request pending the receipt and review of the FMLA Certification of Health Care Provider form (medical certification). 

The preliminary approval may be rescinded/denied retroactively if the medical certification is not received.

Managers are copied on the notifications stated above.

STEP 4: MEDICAL DOCUMENTATION
You are required to submit the completed medical certification to HR Leave & Accommodations within 15 calendar days of the receipt of the preliminary approval notice. If you provided an email address, HR Leave & Accommodations will send you a receipt confirmation within 1 business day from receiving the paperwork. If you do not receive the confirmation,  please contact your health care provider to check the status of the medical certification.

HR Leave & Accommodations has the authority to contact your health care provider to authenticate or clarify FML documentation.

STEP 5: APPROVAL/DENIAL OF FML
HR Leave & Accommodations will approve or deny the FML request once the medical certification is reviewed. If an incomplete or insufficient form is received, HR Leave & Accommodations will notify you of the information needed.  If a completed or sufficient form is not received by the deadline, the request for FML will be denied. Managers are copied on the approval or denial.

STEP 6: CHANGE PENDING OR APPROVED FML
If you need to request a modification to your leave due to a change in your medical condition, you must notify your manager and HR Leave & Accommodations in advance if possible. Failing to notify your manager and HR Leave & Accommodations of the need to extend or modify your leave is subject to the Attendance Policy (MD Anderson Institutional Policy #ADM0289).

STEP 7: EMPLOYEE PAY & USE OF ACCRUED LEAVE

• Employees are required to use all applicable accruals in conjunction with any pending or approved FML.
• For continuous leaves of absence, HR Leave & Accommodations will code all applicable accruals for the duration of the employee’s leave.
• For intermittent leave, managers and timekeepers will ensure the appropriate use of accruals according to the PTO Program guidelines. See applicable leave policies.

STEP 8: COMMUNICATIONS

Managers:

• It's important to keep in touch with employees on leave in order to make arrangements for returning to work, plan for the department’s operational needs and enhance potential retention.
• To maintain compliance with the FML law, read How to Talk with Employees on Extended Leave as guidance for talking with employees while on leave.

Employees:

Follow instructions from your managers about maintaining contact with them during the leave period.

STEP 9: WHILE ON LEAVE
Managers are not allowed to assign work to employees who are on leave. Similarly, employees are not to perform work during leave. This includes, but is not limited to attending meetings or conferences or checking or responding to work-related emails.

Please contact HR Leave & Accommodations or 713-745-3652 with questions.

Your medical condition or your immediate family member’s medical condition may require intermittent time off. Two types of intermittent leave are:

• Intermittent Leave - leave taken as needed and certified by the health care provider when an employee needs to miss work for appointments, treatments or episodes of incapacity during your scheduled workday/week.  
  • Approval of intermittent FML for episodes of incapacity does not authorize you to have frequent tardies. 
  • You are expected to adhere to your scheduled start time unless medically necessary and certified by your health care provider. 
• Reduced Schedule Leave - a change in your schedule that reduces the usual number of working hours per workday/week on a scheduled basis. You are required to use your accruals for any time missed during your scheduled workday/week.

Process for Requesting Intermittent FML

Please follow the steps in "Process for Requesting FML" plus:

• Notify your manager in advance of any scheduled appointments.
• Provide your manager with an appointment and/or treatment schedule within 2 weeks of the time off. Consider the business needs of the department when scheduling appointments or treatments. Your manager may ask you to reschedule due to the business needs of the department. However, rescheduling should not interfere with medical care.
• If you request an intermittent or reduced schedule leave, the institution may transfer you to an equivalent position in another department that better accommodates your needs. This option may be taken to limit the negative impact the operational needs of the department.

Intermittent Leave for Childbirth, Adoption, Foster Placement or Surrogacy 

Requests for intermittent or reduced schedule leave instead of continuous leave are not an entitlement and is subject to the approval of your manager. The manager must email an acknowledgement and authorization of this leave to HR Leave & Accommodations in order for the request to be approved.

If intermittent leave is approved for these reasons, the approved leave must be used within 12 months from the birth, adoption, foster placement or surrogacy date. You must work with your manager to determine the intermittent schedule before taking the leave. While managers do not have the authority to approve or deny the overall FML request, they do have the discretion to determine if the requested intermittent schedule fits the operational needs of the department.

Reporting and Using Intermittent or Reduced Schedule FML

You must designate your absence as intermittent FML at the time of request or call-in. When you advise your manager of the need to take intermittent FML, do not discuss medical details or symptoms. Timekeepers and managers are responsible for ensuring the intermittent or reduced schedule leave is reported to HR Leave and Accommodations at the beginning of each week, for the week prior, by submitting the Electronic Intermittent Tracking Form.

Please review Helpful Tips for Timekeepers as reference. 

See Return to Work for information.

Childbirth

• Parents may only use Extended Illness Bank (EIB) (and sick leave for Educational Trainees Sick Leave Policy (MD Anderson Institutional Policy #ACA0105) time during the recovery period.
  • For a non-cesarean section birth, parents may use up to a maximum of 6 weeks of EIB or sick leave from the date of admission.
  • For a cesarean section birth, the parents may use up to a maximum of 8 weeks EIB or sick leave from the date of admission.
  • The non-birth parent must submit documentation to support a cesarean section birth. If documentation is not received, only 6 weeks of EIB or sick leave will be used.
  • When EIB or sick leave is exhausted or the period of recovery ends, other applicable accruals will be used.
• A request (from the birth mother or spouse) for FML due to a health condition during pregnancy is treated the same as for any other FML request.

Adoption and Foster Placement
Employees may use EIB or sick leave in conjunction with FML when a child under the age of three is adopted regardless of whether the child is sick at the time of adoption or placement.

Surrogacy
Employees may use up to a maximum of 6 weeks of EIB or sick leave during FML from the date of admission.

You are required to use all accumulated applicable accrued leave before going on leave without pay.¹ Use of accrued leave is optional if you are eligible for Workers’ Compensation insurance benefits while on FML. Workers’ Compensation Insurance Policy (MD Anderson Institutional Policy #ADM0276).

Once you begin a leave of absence, time off accrued during the leave period will not be available for use until you return to work. You will not accrue leave for months you are on leave without pay for the entire month. 

Source:

¹Texas State Government Code Section 661.909(c)
 

If you are approved for a leave of absence through RPL, the duration of the absence will be applied towards the 12 workweek entitlement of FML if the employee is eligible for FML.

Learn about your insurance coverage while you are on leave. 

All information relating to requests for FML are confidential and are shared only on a need to know basis. All medical information including the medical certification is treated as confidential and HIPAA protected. 

If you believe that your approved FML is not being granted, you should first talk with your supervisor. If your concerns are not resolved at this level, you should immediately contact HR Leave & Accommodations . They will review the matter and clarify the rights and responsibilities related to the approved FML.

Obtaining or using job-protected leave under false pretenses or falsifying medical documents is subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination. 

Read about definitions and tools specific to Family and Medical Leave.