Civil Service/Labor-Rep Planning for Medical or Parental Leave

• Civil Service rules or union contracts provide leave rules and guidelines about benefits, time off, and employee rights specific to your role at the University. 
• Parental Leave Policy. Eligible employees may take six weeks paid leave related to the birth, adoption, or gestational surrogacy of a child. The parental leave will begin at a time requested by the employee, but not more than two weeks prior to the due date or adoption event, and no later than thirteen weeks after the birth or adoption event. [Note: because of this flexibility, parental leave can be used following a medical leave or other leave for which the employee is eligible.]
• Family and Medical Leave Act is a federal law that provides job protection and benefits coverage to eligible employees.
• Vacation Time Policy. Vacation leave is paid time off of work for personal activities. 
• Unpaid Personal Leave. Unpaid leave is any time away from work where you are not receiving pay. Please consult with your supervisor before taking any unpaid leave. 
• Short-Term Disability Coverage. Short term disability provides income replacement benefits if you are unable to work due to an injury, sickness, or pregnancy that results in your continuous disability for up to 180 days. It is an optional product offered by the University and provided by Unum. 
• Long-Term Disability Coverage. This coverage provides income replacement benefits if you are unable to work for over 180 days due to an injury, sickness, or pregnancy. It is an optional coverage plan offered by the University, provided by Unum. 
• Sick Leave. Sick leave is accrued paid time away from work that can be used to care for your own health and wellness, or for that of a dependent or immediate family member. This can include time at home to recover from illness or medical appointments. Go into the MyU portal and select “My Time” to check your balance of sick leave hours, and to request time off.
• Vacation Donation Policy. The University permits civil service and union-represented employees to donate earned paid vacation to other employees within those groups to be used in cases of serious medical hardship or catastrophic illness or injury.

Step 1: Check the policies and contracts that apply to your leave. See the policies and resources links, above.

Step 2: Check on Family Medical Leave Act Eligibility. 
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) entitles eligible employees to take job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons with continuation of group health insurance coverage at the same employee premium as if the employee had not taken leave. 

Employees need to have been paid for at least 1,250 hours in the 12 months preceding commencement of leave and worked at the University for at least 12 months. 

Note: FMLA leave doesn’t provide paid time off, but you can be paid during an FMLA leave if you’re entitled to be paid under other leave benefits (such as parental leave, academic medical leave, etc.)

Use the FMLA Checklist from OHR to help you plan your FMLA-eligible leave. 

⃞    I am not eligible for FMLA for this leave. 

⃞    I am eligible for FMLA for this leave. 

Step 3: Understand what paid and unpaid leave options are available to you. (Available time needs to be taken in a certain order. Your leave specialist can help determine this.)

Copy and paste these tables into a blank document to fill in.

Determine how your medical, dental, and other benefits coverage will be impacted while you’re not working. Rates per pay period are available in the plan documents and webpages for each benefit (medical rates, dental rates, etc). 

Note: If you plan to take a combination of paid and unpaid time away to cover your medical or parental leave, you will need to be prepared to pay for the additional costs for the employee and University portion of the biweekly rates during the unpaid portion of time.

Step 1: See if your leave qualifies for Voluntary Short-Term or Long-Term Disability Leave.
Check to see if you are enrolled and eligible for these two leaves by going to MyU and clicking “My Benefits.” 

⃞    I don’t plan to use Voluntary Short-Term or Long-Term Disability on this leave (either because I’m not enrolled in this benefit or it’s not applicable to my leave). 

Step 2: Plan your Disability Leave time.

• I will apply to use Voluntary Short-Term Disability, I am aware of rules that apply to this policy. 
  • Filing a claim for Short-Term Disability for the following dates: ______through _______
  • Current Short-Term Disability monthly election amount: $ _______
• I will apply to use Voluntary Long-Term Disability, I am aware of rules that apply to this policy. 
  • Filing a claim for Long-Term Disability for the following dates: ______through _______
  • Current Long-Term Disability monthly election amount: $ _______

Step 3: File a claim for any disability coverage by calling Unum at 1-800-986-3239.

Step 1: Meet with your leave specialist to review and verify. 

Step 2: Meet with your supervisor to discuss your leave and bring this checklist. 

Step 3: Plan to keep in contact with your supervisor and colleagues

• How to reach out to my supervisor while I’m away ______________________________. 
• They can contact me via _______________________________________________.
• Review any projects or work that may come up while I’m out with my supervisor and colleagues.

Step 4: Update your plan if needed.
Parental and medical leaves plans may need to change based on your health and recovery. If you encounter issues that require you to extend your leave, contact ______________________________. 

Step 1: Prepare to return to work

• Get a written “return to work” note from my doctor, if required by my department. 
• Check with my leave specialist to be sure they entered my return date accurately. 
• Check my pay stub to be sure my benefits were reactivated accurately, if applicable. 

Step 2: Parental Leave: Tips before returning 

• Within 30 days: Add my child (or other new family member) to my medical, dental, and other insurance or benefit plan(s) within 30 days of the birth or adoption, if applicable. 
  • Life Event (family status change): A life event allows you to make a change in your benefits coverage outside the Open Enrollment period. Examples include adding coverage for a new spouse or baby, or removing coverage for a former spouse after a divorce. Remember that you must make a request within 30 days of the date the change happened. Call or email the OHR Contact Center at 612-624-8647, Option 1, or benefits@umn.edu to open a life event for you to add your new family member. Do this as soon as you can to ensure you have enough time. 
  • See Change in Family Coverage resources. 
  • Employee Services | Disability Resource Center
• Know where the lactation room is in my work area and its scheduling procedures, if applicable.