Changes in the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

for Staff and Hourly Employees

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) recently underwent several changes. The following summary highlights several of the most significant changes. Contact a campus Human Resources office if there are any questions about the FMLA and the application of its provisions.

Two new reasons that qualify for an FMLA leave have been added to the existing list, both relate to military service.

1. An employee who has a spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent in the Reserves or National Guard who has been called to active duty may be eligible for an FMLA for any of seven different qualifying “exigencies.” To qualify, the exigency must be directly related to the call to duty and include any one of the following: a notice of seven calendar days or less of deployment, military events and related activities, temporary child care arrangements and school activities, financial and legal arrangements, non-medical counseling, rest and recuperation for up to five days when the military member is on temporary rest and recuperation leave, or post-deployment military activities.
2. The second new reason covered as an FMLA leave is referred to as Military Caregiver Leave. This is FMLA leave to care for a covered servicemember who has suffered injury or illness in the line of active duty. An employee may take up to 26 weeks of Military Caregiver Leave during a single 12-month period, starting from the date of the leave, to provide care to the servicemember. Employees who have reason to consider a Military Caregiver Leave should contact a campus Human Resources office to learn the details of the new provisions.

As a result of additional changes in the law, the FMLA now includes the following provisions.

1. Clarifies what is a “serious health condition” which would qualify a person for an FMLA leave.
2. Permits certain individuals to contact an employee’s health care provider to obtain clarification and/or authentication of the medical certification. At Indiana University, this contact must be made by a campus Human Resources office or a person designated by that office.
3. Establishes a new requirement that an employee must follow a department’s provisions for calling in and for requesting time off or the request may be delayed or denied.
4. Provides a department with five work days rather than two days to inform the employee if he or she is eligible for FMLA leave and if a medical or exigency certification is required.
5. States that if an employee has compensatory time, it must be used as part of the FMLA leave. At IU, it must be used first before any other paid time off accruals are used.
6. Provides that breaks in employment which exceed seven years do not have to be counted in determining if an employee meets the
   12 months of employment eligibility requirement.

Indiana University’s policy extends the FMLA benefits to domestic partners qualified under the University’s Affidavit of Domestic Partnership.

www.indiana.edu/~uhrs/policies/uwide/fmla.html

ePTO Project

As reported in the October 2008 edition of The Informed Employee, Indiana University is developing a new system for PAE (Professional Exempt) Staff employees and their supervisors to manage paid time-off benefits. This university-wide system will provide more accurate and timely recording and approval of paid time-off, including PTO, sick days, and holidays.

Once ePTO is deployed, PAE Staff employees will record all time off in ePTO no less frequently than monthly. Time off usage will then be routed to supervisors for approval. Other system functionality will assist both employee and supervisor in managing paid time off benefits.

It is anticipated that the ePTO system will be available for deployment in July 2009. At that time, the University will begin to incrementally add campuses and departments to the ePTO system, with the expectation that all units will be using ePTO in January 2010. The project team will contact campuses and departments in upcoming months to develop a specific deployment timeline for all units across the University.

University OLA Project

Indiana University is preparing to deploy University OLA, a new, university-wide online job application system. This new system is based largely on systems currently in use at the Bloomington and Indianapolis campuses, with additional enhancements.

The system contains functionality for internal and external job applicants to

• view job listings (across all campuses);
• apply for jobs (including storing a default resume);
• track the status of their applications.

Also included is functionality for use by campus Human Resources offices and departmental supervisors to manage

• job listings (create, post, refer applicants, close);
• hiring committees;
• system security.

The system is scheduled to be rolled out to the Northwest and Southeast campuses in spring 2009, followed by implementations at Bloomington, Indianapolis, and the other regional campuses. Project status updates will be provided in upcoming editions of The Informed Employee.

Indiana University is participating in the governor’s program, INShape Indiana, that is dedicated to helping people move more, eat better, and stop smoking. Participants receive periodic e-mail information about wellness resources, special events, and exercise and weight loss programs. A new component is a “10 in 10 Challenge” which provides basic information on how to safely lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks by increasing activity and improving diet. The challenge includes an at-home workout program that can be tailored to a specific fitness level using minimal equipment. Employees are encouraged to register to participate at the INShape Indiana Web site at www.in.gov/inshape/.

2009 Holidays for Staff Employees

Staff employees with 50 percent FTE or greater receive the following nine paid holidays a year. Each holiday is considered to be eight hours for full-time Staff and is prorated by FTE for part-time Staff.

Page updated: 23 February 2009
UNIVERSITY HUMAN RESOURCE SERVICES • Contact Us