Planning a Leave of Absence

Prepare for your leave of absence:

• Review your available paid and unpaid leave options, related policies, and governance documents for your employee group.
• Check on Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and MN Paid Leave eligibility and documentation requirements.
• See if your leave qualifies for coverage under one of the University’s disability coverage programs.
• Determine how your medical, dental, and other benefits coverage will be affected while you’re not working. Rates per pay period are available in the plan documents and web pages for each benefit (medical rates, dental rates, etc).
• Contact the Leave Administration team with questions.

• Types of Leave
• Family and Medical - FMLA Leave policy
• Employee Services | Disability Resource Center
• Civil Service rules and union contracts
• Vacation Paid Time Off
• Sick Time Off
• Short Term Disability Coverage
• Long-Term Disability Coverage
• Academic Disability Program

Plan coverage for your work:

• Discuss leave with your supervisor.
• Work with your supervisor to transition your work to others, as needed.
• Keep your supervisor informed of any date changes related to your leave of absence.

Request your leave:

• Contact MetLife by phone (1-833-644-3652) or create an account on the online portal to file a claim form and get started. 

Plan your leave:

• MetLife will provide all of your leave options.
• Work with MetLife and your provider to make sure MetLife receives your medical documentation.
• Advise your University leave specialist if you would like to use accrued time to “top off” your paid leave benefit.

• Employee Services | Disability Resource Center

Absence Management:

• If you are out continuously, your University leave specialist will enter your absences in the system.
• If working intermittently, notify your supervisor when you are not able to go to work. Let the Leave Administration team know either daily or weekly when you miss time.

Pay and Benefits:

• Understand pay information, especially if considering extending your leave.
• Utilize Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for concerns, if necessary.

Stay connected:

• IMPORTANT: Stay in touch with your MetLife claims specialist and your University leave specialist. Make sure you respond to emails and notify them if you need to extend, shorten, or change the type of your leave.

• Benefits Vendor Contact Info
• Employee Services | Disability Resource Center

Prepare for your return to work:

• Confirm with MetLife your return to work plan, including the date and if any accommodations are needed.
• Get a written “return to work” note from my doctor, if required by your department.
• Work with the Disability Resource Center (DRC) to ensure you have the right accommodations when you return, if applicable.
• Review the family resources available when returning from leave (e.g., lactation policies and spaces).

Update your benefits, if necessary:

• Review the Life Events and Your Benefits information. If your leave was due to a change in your family status (like the birth of a child), you may be able to update your benefit coverage within 30 days of the date the change happened.

• Family Resources
• Life Events and Your Benefits
• Employee Services | Disability Resource Center

• Your University leave specialist will reach out to confirm you were able to return to work as planned.
• Check your pay stub to be sure benefits were reactivated accurately, if applicable.
• Know where the lactation room is in your work area and its scheduling procedures, if applicable.

• Employee Services | Disability Resource Center

Most University of Minnesota faculty and staff should follow the process outlined above. A couple groups of employees have different needs based on their employment situation:

Medical School Faculty Employed by University of Minnesota Physicians (UMP)

• You will need to follow the established processes to inform both UMN and UMP about your leave since the HR systems are not integrated.
• You will need to file two separate disability and/or MN Paid Leave claims for UMN and UMP, if appropriate.

Unit 2 Craft and Trades Employees

• Those covered by this bargaining unit are not eligible for University leaves since they receive benefits through their trade union.
• However, you qualify for FMLA protections and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). If you work at least 50% of your time in Minnesota, you may also qualify for MN Paid Leave.
• Your time away under FMLA and MN Paid Leave will be tracked through MetLife and managed by your University payroll department.
• Trades staff who contact the Disability Resource Center will be directed to OHR if their issue qualifies under either FMLA or ADA.

If you are not able to return to work upon formal leave exhaustion, your leave will be handed over to your University leave specialist from MetLife. Your leave specialist will work with your department for an approval of additional time.

Please contact [email protected] for specific benefits questions.

During a paid leave, all of your benefits remain the same. 

During an unpaid leave that covers one or more pay periods, you will be responsible for paying your benefits through our direct bill process. If your leave is unpaid but covered under FMLA, you will pay a portion of the cost for the benefits and if your leave is unpaid and not covered under FMLA, the University will not contribute toward the cost of your medical, dental, and life insurance benefits and you will pay the full cost.

Be sure to review the Administrative Policy for Unpaid Personal Leaves for Faculty and P&A Employees, your employee group governance document, and federal and state continuation provisions (COBRA).

Flexible Spending Accounts

Health Care FSA

If you make contributions while out on a leave of absence that lasts longer than one month, you may continue to submit expenses for reimbursement. If you do not make contributions while on leave, any expenses incurred while on your leave are not eligible for reimbursement.

Dependent Care FSA

You can use the money remaining in your account for work-related dependent daycare expenses through the end of the year.

Recovery of Benefits Costs

You may be required to reimburse the University for the costs of maintaining your health and dental benefits during an unpaid FMLA leave if you do not return to work (for a reason other than a serious health condition of you, an immediate family member, or service member; or for reasons beyond your control).

Eligible faculty members may request development leaves, including single-semester, sabbatical, and entrepreneurial leaves. These types of leave are not processed by the Leave Administration team or MetLife.

Learn more about these types of leave, including procedures, reporting requirements, and their impact on salary and benefits, in the Faculty Development Leaves policy.