DEPARTMENT: Human Resources / POLICY DESCRIPTION: Leaves of Absence
PAGE:Page 1 of 16 / 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, 10/15/10
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 16, 2010 / REFERENCE NUMBER: HR.OP.018 (formerly HR.203)
APPROVED BY: Ethics and Compliance Policy Committee
SCOPE: All Company-affiliated subsidiaries including, but not limited to hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, outpatient imaging centers, physician practices, All About Staffing, Corporate Departments, Groups, and Divisions (collectively, “Affiliated Employers” and individually, “Affiliated Employer”).
PURPOSE: Affiliated employers may provide various leaves of absence to employees.
POLICY:
  1. TYPES OF LEAVE:
A.EDUCATIONAL LEAVE
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.
Eligibility -Full-time regular employees with at least six 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.
Approval - A written request for educational leave should be submitted by the employee to the supervisor on the appropriate Leave of Absence Request form, setting forth the dates of the leave requested, the course of study and the educational institution at which the study will take place. Approval for an educational leave is based on the needs of the employer and the appropriateness of the course of study to operations.
Duration - The leave should not exceed six (6) months.
B.GENERAL MEDICAL LEAVE
(Including pregnancy leave not covered by Family Medical Leave, the Tennessee Maternity/Paternity statute, other applicable state statutes and on-the-job injuries or illness)
Eligibility - A medical leave of absence may be granted to a full-time or part-time employee with at least six months of continuous service. Any accrued paid benefit time should be run concurrently with the leave of absence and equal to the employee’s regular, not reduced, scheduled hours. There is no minimum service requirement for eligibility for a leave of absence occasioned by a pregnancy-related disability, or for a disability arising out of an on-the-job injury or illness.
Approval - A written request for this leave should be submitted by the employee to the supervisor on the appropriate Leave of Absence Request form. A health care provider’scertification will be required. The department head may approve a medical leave of absence based on the circumstances of the request.
Duration - Medical leaves, if granted, are granted for the duration of the period of disability, not to exceed six (6) months during a backwards-rolling twelve-month period. If family and medical leave and general medical leave are taken during the same 12-month period, the total combined leave time may not exceed six (6) months. An employee’s individual circumstance may be the basis to consider general medical leave time beyond six (6) months. (See Family and Medical Leave guideline).
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 supervisor should consult with Human Resources in order to evaluate possible reasonable accommodation to get the employee back to work.
Medical Verification - 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 employer’s expense by a health care provider selected by the employer. Human Resources should be consulted regarding medical verifications.
C.TRAINING LEAVE
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).
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 (TRAN) 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.
Eligibility - All employees who engage in active or inactive training duty in the uniformed services of the United States or National Disaster Medical System.
Approval - Request for training leave should be made sufficiently in advance of the projected beginning of the leave to enable the employer to adjust the work schedule accordingly. The employee should use the appropriate Leave of Absence Request form. The employee should be placed in an 05-Leave of Absence status using the 1LOASTART personnel action and the appropriate reason code (LOA-P-TRAN, LOA-Paid-Training Milt DMAT, or LOA-U-TRAN, LOA-Unpaid-Training Milt DMAT).
Duration - Leave will be granted for the period of the training.

D.ACTIVE DUTY LEAVE

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).
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.
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 while on active duty in circumstances where normal pay is greater than military or National Disaster Medical System pay while on active duty.
Supplemental payments up to $9,615 biweekly or $20,833 monthlywill be 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. Therefore, 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.
Eligibility - Regular Full Time and Regular Part Time 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). Temporary and PRN employees are not eligible.

Procedure for Supplemental Military Pay

Employees who report for active duty may be eligible for supplemental pay to the extent their gross regular pay (including shift differentials) exceeds their gross pay from the militaryup to $9,615 biweekly or $20,833 monthly.
To determine the pay for employees on military leave, access then select the Military pay Table link. Locate the employee’s military rank in column one (pay grade) then locate their cumulative years of service with the military across the top. NOTE: The employee’s military years of service should be located on their “JUMPS” (Joint Uniform Military Pay System) statement. The intersection of pay grade (rank) and years of service in this table identifies the employee’s basic pay.
Once employees are able to provide specific proof of pay received from the military, a determination can be made as to whether supplemental pay is applicable. If so, work with the PSC payroll processor who can help calculate the appropriate supplemental payments.

Procedure for Supplemental National Disaster Medical System Pay

Employees activated under the National Disaster Medical System may be eligible for supplemental pay to the extent their gross regular pay (including shift differentials) exceeded the pay received from the National Disaster Medical Systemup to $9,615 biweekly or $20,833 monthly.
Use the link determine the pay for employees activated under the National Disaster Medical System. Use the employee’s GS grade for their National Disaster Medical System title of position. This information must be taken from the employee’s National Disaster Medical System Activation Orders.
All Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) positions are paid at Step 1 of the GS Grade for their respective National Disaster Medical System title of position.
The tables at the above link are set up for either annual or hourly rates, so one may need to calculate the differential if the employee is on a bi-weekly or hourly pay schedule.
Once employees are able to provide specific proof of pay received from the National Disaster Medical System, a determination can be made as to whether supplemental pay is applicable. If so, work with the PSC payroll processor who can help calculate the appropriate supplemental payments. All payments will be subject to taxes and other applicable withholdings.

Procedure for Coding the Active Duty Leave

  1. Access the Lawson Human Resource Management System (HRMS)
  2. Access PA52.1 Individual Action
  3. Select the Employee from the drop down box provided
  4. Select 1LOASTART from the drop down box provided in the Action, Nbr field
  5. Populate the Effective Date field with the day following their last physical day at work
  6. Select the Reason code “LOA-P-ACTV” from the drop down box provided
  7. Click Inquire.
  8. Access the Selected Items 1 tab
  9. Populate the Status “change to” field with 05
  10. Populate the 01-LOA REASON “change to” field with LOA-P-ACTV
  11. Populate the 01-LOA EXP RETURN “change to” field with the employee’s expected return date (cannot be blank)
  12. Click [Add]; validate “Add complete –continue” in status bar

For questions about this procedure, contact IT&S Customer Support at

1-800-265-8422, option 4, then 1.

General Guidance for Benefits Continuation While on Active Duty Leave – (See Attachment A).

E.PERSONAL LEAVEA personal leave of absence may be approved for a variety of reasons. A Supervisor may allow an employee personal leave for situations that in management's view, require it.
Eligibility - An approved personal leave of absence may be granted to regular full-time or part-time employees with at least six (6) months of continuous service. If any portion of the leave is paid, the employee’s regularly scheduled hours, not reduced hours, are charged to PTO and the premiums normally paid by the employee, while working, will be deducted from such pay.
Approval - A written request for a personal leave of absence should be submitted on the appropriate Leave of Absence Request form by the employee to the supervisor prior to the commencement of the leave. Approval will be granted by the department head based on the circumstances surrounding the request.
Duration - The leave should not exceed six (6) months.
  1. FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE
The Family and Medical Leave Act provides that eligible employees are entitled to a total of twelve (12)work weeks of unpaidleave during a backwards-rolling twelve-month period for any one, or more, of the following reasons:
1)The birth of a son or daughter, and to care for the newborn child;
2)The placement with the employee of a son or daughter for adoption or foster care,and to care for the newly placed child;
3) To care for the employee's spouse, domestic partner,son, daughter, or parent with a serious health condition;
4) Because of a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to work.
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 supervisor should consult with Human Resources in order to evaluate possible reasonable accommodation to get the employee back to work.
Leave Entitlement - Leave for birth or placement of child for adoption or foster care must be taken within 12 months of birth or placement. When both spouses or domestic partnersare employed by an Affiliated Employer they arelimited to a combined total of 12 work weeks during a backwards rolling 12-month period if leave is taken for birth or placement of a child for adoption or foster care.
Family and medical leave need not always be taken in one continuous leave period. Leave may be taken "intermittently" or on a "reduced schedule" basis under certain circumstances. Intermittent leave is leave taken in separate blocks of time due to a single illness or injury, rather than for one continuous period of time. A reduced schedule leaveis a leave that reduces an employee’s number of scheduled working hours per day or per week.
Intermittent or reduced schedule leave for a birth or placement of a healthy child for adoption or foster care may be approved by the employee's department head if staffing and workload permit. Intermittent or reduced schedule leave to care for a qualified sick family member or for an employee's own serious health condition will be approved if the leave is medically necessary. A “medical necessity” means there is a medical need for the leave versus voluntary treatments and procedures. If the leave is intermittent or requires a reduced schedule, the employee’s health care provider must state that such leave is medically necessary and explain why.
An employee who has a serious health condition and is unable to return to work after 12work weeks of family and medical leave may be placed on a general medical leave. (See general medical leave guideline).
Serious Health Condition - An illness, injury, impairment or physical or mental condition that involves either:
  1. Any period of incapacity or treatment connected with inpatient care (i.e., an overnight stay) in a hospital, hospice, or residential medical care facility, and any period of incapacity or subsequent treatment in connection with such inpatient care; or
  2. continuing treatment by a health care provider which includes any period of incapacity (i.e., inability to work, attend school, or perform other regular daily activities) due to:
  1. A health condition (including treatment therefore, or recovery therefrom) lasting more than three consecutive full calendar days, and any subsequent treatment or period of incapacity relating to the same condition, that also includes:
i)One in-person treatment within seven days of the first day of incapacity and one or more in-person treatments within the first 30 days of the first day of incapacity, absent extenuating circumstances, by or under the supervision of a health care provider; or
ii)One in-person treatment by a health care provider within the first seven days of the first day of incapacity followed by a regimen of continuing treatmentunder the supervision of the health care provider; or
  1. Any period of incapacity due to pregnancy or for prenatal care. A visit to the health care provider is not necessary for each absence; or
  2. A chronic serious health condition which continues over an extended period of
time, requires periodic visits(defined as at least twice a year)to a health care provider, and may involve occasional episodes of incapacity (e.g., asthma, diabetes). A visit to a health careprovider is not necessary for each absence; or
  1. A permanent long-term condition for which treatment may not be effective (e.g.,
Alzheimer’s, a severestroke, terminal cancer). Only supervision by a health care provider is required, rather than active treatment; or
  1. Any absences to receive multiple treatments for restorative surgery or for a
condition which would likely result in a period of incapacity for more than three days if not treated (e.g., chemotherapy or radiation treatments for cancer).
Eligibility - An eligible employee is one who has been employed for at least 12 months, has at least 1,250 hours of service during the 12-month period immediately preceding the date of the requested leave, and who expresses an intent to return to work after the leave.An employee who is not eligible for FMLA leave at the beginning of his or her leave of absence may begin FMLA leave once s/he has met the eligibility requirements.
Approval - 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 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 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.
An employee must provide sufficient information for the employer to determine if the leave may qualify for FMLA protection and the anticipated timing and duration of the leave. The employee must provide sufficient information to indicate that a condition renders the employee unable to perform the functions of the job, or if the leave is for a family member, that the condition renders the family member unable to perform daily activities. An employee should also inform the employer if the requested leave is for a reason for which FMLA leave was previously taken or certified. Simply calling in sick is not sufficient notification of the need for FMLA leave. When an employee does not comply with usual notice and procedural requirements for notifying the employer of an absence and no unusual circumstances justify the failure to comply, FMLA-protected leave may be delayed or denied.