PAGE: 2 of 15 / REPLACES POLICY DATED: 4/1/98, 6/30/02, 12/15/02, 3/15/03, 9/1/05, 11/1/05, 8/1/07, 12/1/07, 8/1/08, 4/1/09, 11/1/09, 1/1/10, 5/15/10, 10/16/10, 9/1/11, 9/1/12, 11/1/12, 11/15/13
EFFECTIVE DATE: May 1, 2015 / REFERENCE NUMBER: HR.TR.004 (formerly HR.OP.018 and HR.203)
APPROVED BY: Ethics and Compliance Policy Committee
DIVISION/LOB/ENTERPRISE: Enterprise-Wide
SCOPE: All Company-affiliated subsidiaries including, but not limited to hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, outpatient imaging centers, physician practices, Parallon Workforce Management Solutions, Corporate Departments, Groups, and Divisions (collectively, “Affiliated Employers” and individually, “Affiliated Employer”).
PURPOSE: To provide guidelines on eligibility, duration, documentation, and reinstatement stipulations for leaves of absence provided by the Affiliated Employer; guidelines may vary by leave type and federal/state regulation.
DEFINITIONS:
1. Leave of Absence: A leave of absence is an approved absence from work for a specified period of time. Leaves for employees working in California, Colorado, Florida, Nevada or Tennessee will be governed by applicable state law. A list of State Leave Laws is available on Atlas.
2. Reduced Schedule Leave: For the purposes of family and medical leave, a reduced schedule leave is a leave that reduces an employee’s number of scheduled working hours per day or per week.
3. Disability: Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) defines a disability as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity; reference Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended (ADA).
4. Incapable of Self-Care: For the purposes of family and medical leave, incapable of self-care occurs when an adult son or daughter requires active assistance or supervision to provide daily self-care in three (3) or more of the “activities of daily living” (ADLs) or “instrumental activities of daily living” (see Family and Medical Leave).
RESPONSIBILITIES:
EDUCATIONAL LEAVE:
1. Consideration will be given an employee requesting a leave of absence to continue his/her education if the employee has expressed full intention of returning to employment.a. Eligibility: Full-time regular employees with at least twelve (12) months of continuous service who seek to enroll as full-time students in a course of study that would otherwise conflict with their normal work schedule. Enrollment in part-time, night or weekend courses will not support eligibility.
b. Approval: Approval for an educational leave is based on the needs of the Affiliated Employer and the appropriateness of the course of study to operations.
c. Duration: The leave should not exceed six (6) months.
d. Documentation: Employees will be required to provide the dates of the leave requested, the course of study, the educational institution from which the study will take place, and registration confirmation.
e. Reinstatement: Reinstatement upon completion of Educational Leave is not guaranteed.
2. An employee who desires to return from educational leave of absence prior to the date the leave was due to expire must request management approval to be added to the work schedule in compliance with the Scheduling Policy, HR.ER.023.
GENERAL MEDICAL LEAVE:
1. General Medical Leave includes pregnancy leave not covered by Family Medical Leave, the Tennessee Maternity/Paternity statute, other applicable state statutes and on-the-job injuries or illness.a. Eligibility: A medical leave of absence may be granted to a full-time or part-time employee. There is no minimum service requirement for eligibility for a General Medical Leave of Absence.
b. Approval: The leave request may be approved based on the circumstances of the request.
c. Duration: Medical leaves, if granted, are granted for the duration of the period of Disability. The HR Business Partner should review and approve circumstances that may extend general medical leave time beyond six (6) months.
d. Documentation: A health care provider’s certification will be required. An Affiliated Employer reserves the right at any time to require proof or medical verification of an employee's ability or inability to work. Such proof or verification may include periodic reports from, or consultation with, the employee's health care provider or examination of the employee at the Affiliated Employer’s expense by a health care provider selected by the Affiliated Employer. Human Resources should be consulted regarding medical verifications. Failure to provide medical verification may result in the leave not being approved or extended.
An Affiliated Employer may require an employee, at the Affiliated Employer’s expense, to obtain a second medical opinion. The Affiliated Employer in such cases will designate the health care provider to furnish the second opinion. If the first and second opinions differ, the Affiliated Employer may require the employee to obtain a medical opinion from a third health care provider, again at the Affiliated Employer’s expense. The third health care provider will be jointly selected by the Affiliated Employer and the employee. The third opinion is final and binding.
e. Reinstatement: Reinstatement upon completion of General Medical Leave is not guaranteed. An employee who is absent on medical leave should provide notification of availability to return to work immediately upon being released to return to work by the employee's doctor. A fitness for duty statement or health care provider’s release to return to work will be required if the employee is absent for eight (8) or more days. An employee will not be allowed to return to work without the proper documentation from the health care provider. Failure to submit a fitness for duty certification may result in the denial of reinstatement to employment following the leave of absence.
2. When an employee can only return to work with a temporary or permanent restriction that affects ability to perform the essential functions of the job, the employee’s manager should consult with Human Resources in order to evaluate possible reasonable accommodation to get the employee back to work.
3. An employee who desires to return from General Medical Leave of absence prior to the date the leave was due to expire must request management approval to be added to the work schedule in compliance with the Scheduling Policy, HR.ER.023.
MILITARY TRAINING LEAVE:
1. This policy is in compliance with the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act (USERRA) of 1994 and the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 under which, service in a training program authorized by the Assistant Secretary for Public Health Emergency Preparedness shall be deemed “service in the uniformed services” for purposes of chapter 43 of title 38, United States Code (USERRA).2. Non-exempt employees who must be absent for active or inactive military or National Disaster Medical System training duty (e.g., Reserves or National Guard summer camps, annual cruises, weekend drills, attendance at military schools or a training program authorized by the Assistant Secretary for Public Health Emergency Preparedness) will be granted, upon request, a leave of absence without pay. An exempt employee who works any part of a work week and then reports for training is entitled to be paid for the entire work week. An employee may use PTO for training duty obligations upon written request.
a. Eligibility: All employees who engage in active or inactive training duty in the uniformed services of the United States or National Disaster Medical System.
b. Approval: Request for training leave should be made sufficiently in advance of the projected beginning of the leave to enable the Affiliated Employer to adjust the work schedule accordingly.
c. Duration: Leave will be granted for the period of the training.
d. Documentation: Orders from military component.
e. Reinstatement: Reinstatement from military training leave shall be granted in accordance with state and federal law.
ACTIVE DUTY MILITARY LEAVE:
1. This policy is in compliance with the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act (USERRA) of 1994 and the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 under which, service as an appointee when the Secretary of Health and Human Services activates the National Disaster Medical System shall be deemed ‘service in the uniformed services’ for purposes of Chapter 43 of Title 38, United States Code (USERRA).2. All classifications of employees (Full Time, Part Time, PRN, and Temporary) are covered by USERRA. Former employees of affiliates with five (5) years or less of military service or employees returning from active duty leave have a right to be re-employed or reinstated to the same or comparable position held prior to the period of active duty, including restoration of rate of pay and benefits that would have been attained had the employee not been absent due to active duty military service.
a. Eligibility: All employees who have been served with Activation Orders to report to active duty within their component (USA, USMC, USN, USAF, USCG, National Disaster Medical System, etc.).
b. Approval: Approval is granted with submission of activation orders.
c. Duration: Leave will be granted as outlined by the activation orders.
d. Documentation: Activation orders from military component.
e. Reinstatement: Employees returning from active duty will be reinstated to their original position if return to work occurs within a ninety (90) day window or to the original or comparable position if the employee returns to work after ninety-one (91) days or more. Former employees of affiliates with five (5) years or less of military service or employees returning from active duty leave have a right to be re-employed or reinstated to equivalent seniority, status and pay held prior to the period of active duty. Reinstatement will be granted in accordance with state and federal law.
ACTIVE DUTY MILITARY LEAVE – SUPPLEMENTAL PAY AND BENEFITS:
1. Beyond the scope of USERRA, for employees called to active military duty or service as an intermittent disaster response appointee, other than routine training, it is the intent of this policy to supplement missed compensation in circumstances where normal pay is greater than military or National Disaster Medical System pay while on active duty.
Regular Full Time and Regular Part Time employees who have served with Activation Orders to report to active duty within their component (USA, USMC, USN, USAF, USCG, National Disaster Medical System, etc.) may be eligible for supplemental payments up to $9,615 biweekly or $20,833 monthly calculated based on the difference between the employee’s gross regular pay (including shift differentials) at the time of activation and his/her gross pay from the military or National Disaster Medical System. Regular gross pay will be based on the employees’ scheduled hours and shifts at time of activation. Overtime hours are not included in the calculations; only regular hours, shift differentials, and any applicable other premium pay such as certification differentials, are to be included. Temporary and PRN employees are not eligible.
2. See Active Duty Leave of Absence Continuation of Benefits document on the Company’s Intranet for general guidance for benefits continuation while on active duty leave.
PERSONAL LEAVE:1. A personal leave of absence may be approved for a variety of reasons. An Affiliated Employer may allow an employee personal leave for situations that in management's view, require it.
a. Eligibility: An approved Personal Leave of Absence may be granted to regular full-time or part-time employees. There is no minimum service requirement for eligibility for a Personal Leave of Absence.
b. Approval: Approval may be granted by the Affiliated Employer based on the circumstances surrounding the request.
c. Duration: The leave should not exceed six (6) months. After five (5) consecutive days of absence, employee will be moved to personal leave unless on Paid Time Off (PTO) for vacation.
d. Documentation: Approval of personal leave should be documented through Time Away From Work or applicable time management system.
e. Reinstatement: Reinstatement at the conclusion of the leave is not guaranteed.
2. An employee who desires to return from personal leave of absence prior to the date the leave was due to expire must request management approval to be added to the work schedule in compliance with the Scheduling Policy, HR.ER.023.
FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE:1. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides that eligible employees are entitled to a total of twelve (12) work weeks of unpaid leave during a backwards-rolling twelve-month period. An employee who is not eligible for FMLA leave at the beginning of his or her leave of absence may begin FMLA leave once he/she has met the eligibility requirements.
a. Eligibility: An eligible employee is one who has been employed for at least twelve (12) months, has at least 1,250 hours of service during the 12-month period immediately preceding the date of the requested leave, is employed at a worksite where 50 or more employees are employed by the Affiliated Employer within 75 miles of that worksite, and who expresses an intent to return to work after the leave. Eligible employees will be granted leave for any one or more of the following reasons:
· The birth of a son or daughter, and to care for the newborn child;
· The placement with the employee of a son or daughter for adoption or foster care, and to care for the newly placed child;
· To care for the employee's spouse, son/daughter (if an adult child over 18 years of age, the child must have a mental or physical disability and be incapable of self-care because of that disability [ See Definitions]), or parent with a serious health condition; or
· Because of a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to work.
b. Approval: The leave request will be approved if the employee meets all eligibility criteria set forth by the Family and Medical Leave Act:
· An employee desiring to take family and medical leave must give at least 30 days advance notice prior to commencement of leave, if the need for leave is foreseeable. When planning medical treatment, an employee must consult with the Affiliated Employer and make a reasonable effort to schedule the treatment so as not to unduly disrupt business operations. If the need for leave was not foreseeable, and/or 30 days is not possible, the employee must give as much notice as is practicable under the circumstances. The employee should give at least verbal notification to the Affiliated Employer as soon as practicable after the need for leave becomes known. When an employee becomes aware of a need for FMLA leave less than 30 days in advance, it should generally be practicable for the employee to provide notice of the need for leave either the same day or the next business day.