Policy 311.0: Family and Medical Leave

General Information

• Policy 311.0, concerning Family and Medical Leave, was implemented by the Osceola County Sheriff's Office on January 13, 2023
• It was reviewed for P.R.C. on February 8, 2022 and rescinds policy from May 6, 2022
• It aims to align the Sheriff's Office with the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

Policy Aim

• Allows employees time to care for themselves or immediate family

Policy Regulations

• The Sheriff's Office adheres to federal legislation and U.S. Department of Labor regulations to interpret and apply FMLA benefits

Definitions

• Certification of Physician or Practitioner: A medical certification supporting FMLA leave, completed by a healthcare provider, needed when an employee requires leave to care for a seriously ill family member or due to the employee's own serious health condition
• Eligible Member: An employee employed by the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office for at least 12 months and has worked a minimum of 1,250 hours during the 12-month period before the leave starts
• Equivalent Position: A role within the Sheriff’s Office with similar duties, responsibilities, skill level, effort, and authority that offers identical pay, benefits, work schedule and location
• Immediate Family Member: Limited to spouse, children, or parent, not including in-laws
• Key Member(s): Salaried, FMLA-eligible employees within the highest-paid 10% of the agency
• Military Caregiver: An eligible employee who is the spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin of a current member of the Armed Forces or National Guard/Reserve undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy due to a serious injury or illness on active duty
• Normal Business Hours: 0800 to 1700 hours, Monday through Friday, excluding approved holidays
• Off-Duty Detail(s): Agency-authorized employment requiring law enforcement powers, including travel out of Osceola County for dignitary protection and Community Service Officers working details without law enforcement authority, like traffic control
• Outside Employment: Employment not related to law enforcement where police powers aren't a condition, implying no need for law enforcement service (e.g., teaching, lawn maintenance)
• Qualifying Exigency Leave: Up to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave in a year for exigencies when an employee's family member is on active duty or has notice of an impending call to active duty during a contingency operation with qualifying exigencies:
  • Issues from short-notice deployment with 7 or less days of notice of deployment (up to 7 days from notification date)
  • Military events and activities military or family support programs and informational briefings, military service organizations, or the American Red Cross
  • Certain child care activities related to active duty status, as well as urgent need care, and meetings at school or day care
  • Making/updating financial and legal arrangements due to a covered military member’s absence
  • Attending counseling with someone other than a healthcare provider, if the counseling is connected to the military member's active duty
  • Spending up to 5 days with a covered military member on short-term rest/recuperation during deployment
  • Post-deployment activities, arrival ceremonies, reintegration briefings, or programs sponsored by the military, but are limited to 90 days following the end of the covered military member's active-duty status, or addressing issues from death
• Serious Health Condition: An off-duty illness, injury, impairment, physical, or mental condition including inpatient care in a medical facility or continuing treatment by a healthcare provider involving incapacitation over three consecutive days, with two or more treatments or one treatment with a continued regimen, pregnancy or prenatal care, chronic conditions requiring periodic treatments or permanent conditions requiring supervision, and multiple treatments for non-chronic conditions
• Temporary Restricted Duty (TRD): A temporary placement of a member into a restricted work assignment extended at the discretion of the Sheriff
• Twelve (12) Month Period: The agency uses a rolling calendar method to determine duration, where FMLA leave balance can be used within the 12-month period after the leave starts.
• Twelve (12) Workweeks: Eighty-four calendar days
• Work Status Paperwork: Agency-approved documentation from the member's healthcare provider certifying a member's ability to perform job functions

Procedure: FMLA Leave

• Qualified Events:
  • A member’s serious health condition
  • Birth of a child, to be completed within 12 months of the birth
  • Placement of a child for adoption or foster care, to be completed within 12 months of the placement
  • To care for a family who has a serious health condition where "child" means someone under 18, or over 18 and incapable of self-care due to disability
  • Qualifying exigencies due to a family member's active duty status in the National Guard or Military Reserve

Procedure: Military Caregiver

• Authorized up to 26 weeks of unpaid leave during a single 12-month period to care for a service member

Procedure: Off-Duty and Outside Employment

• Employees wanting to work while on FMLA leave are restricted from participating in Off-Duty Details, and must find a replacement for any scheduled Off-Duty Details consistent with Policy 360.0

Procedure: Participating In Outside Employment

• Members may be authorized to participate in it with Sheriff approval, via the Application for Outside Employment (#SO-03-77)

Procedure: Requesting Leave

• Members must give 30 days notice, using the FMLA Leave Request form (SO-19-363) for foreseeable leave, like the birth, adoption, or planned surgeries
• When leave is not foreseeable, members must submit the FMLA Leave Request form (SO-19-363) as soon as practical
• If the leave is for a serious health condition, the member must submit a Certification of Physician or Practitioner form within 15 days of receiving it from Human Resources
• The member must submit legal documentation directly to Human Resources for child placement
• The Human Resources Specialist determines eligibility and forwards the completed package to the Human Resources Manager, then provides written confirmation of FMLA status to the member and their supervisor
• Members subpoenaed to appear in court must comply unless medically impossible, and this time will be recorded per Policy 302.0
• Members must use accrued leave during FMLA-qualifying absences, with accrued leave running concurrently with FMLA leave

Procedure: Married Couples

• Spouses working for the agency are each granted 12 weeks of leave, not taken together, for the birth, adoption, or care of a parent with a serious health condition
• Up to 26 weeks of leave may be granted in a calendar year to care for a covered military member with a serious injury or illness
• If one spouse is ineligible, the other is entitled to a full 12 weeks of FMLA leave

Procedure: Intermittent Leave

• FMLA lets employers use intermittent or reduced schedules when medically necessary, requiring submission of a completed Medical Certificate to Human Resources
• Members need to complete the FMLA Leave Request form (SO-19-363) and provide a 30-day written schedule when leave is foreseeable
• To request intermittent leave for the birth or bonding of a child, the employee has to submit an interoffice memorandum via chain of command for approval by the Deputy Chief or designee
• To accommodate intermittent leave, an employee may be transferred to an alternate equivalent position, but transfers are up to the Sheriff
• Eligible members have to take FMLA leave as a continuous block unless the Sheriff's Office permits intermittent leave for birth or placement for adoption, or for a family member or member's own Serious Health Condition

Procedure: Retroactive FMLA Leave

• The Sheriff may retroactively designate a portion of related leave as FMLA if sick leave progresses into a Serious Health Condition that meets FMLA requirements

Procedure: Eligible Member Rights

• A member returning from FMLA must be restored to their original job or an equivalent position with exceptions for Key Members
• The agency cannot deny restoration if the member would not have been employed otherwise
• FMLA-qualified leave cannot result in the loss of benefits earned before the leave, or benefits they would have attained without the leave
• The agency cannot interfere with FMLA rights or discriminate against members taking FMLA leave
• FMLA rights cannot be waived; the agency can't induce members to waive their rights

Procedure: Second Opinion

• The Sheriff's Office may require a second medical opinion by a physician of their choosing
• A third opinion by a mutually agreed physician may be necessary if the first two conflict
• All costs are paid by the Sheriff's Office
• The third opinion will be final and binding for employee and Sheriff's Office
• The process should be consistent with 29 C.F.R. § 825.307

Procedure: Health benefits

• Health benefits must be maintained during FMLA leave if the member contributes to any health insurance and will have copayments deducted from their paycheck if using accrued leave
• Copayment must be made to the Finance Section on the first day of each month if not receiving a paycheck
• The agency can stop health insurance if a member fails to pay the premium within 30 days

Procedure: Fraud

• A member loses Act protection if getting FMLA leave through deception, dishonesty, or misrepresentation

Procedure: Periodic Reports

• Members may be required to submit periodic work status or recertification of a Serious Health Condition to the Human Resources Section every 30 days

Procedure: Returning To Work

• Members returning after leave based on a serious health condition must submit Work Status Paperwork completed by their health care provider stating the member can medically perform the essential job functions
• Members returning to work under Temporary Restricted Duty (TRD) must follow Policy 335.0
• A Work Status Paperwork must be submitted directly to Human Resources for the member’s return to work
• Supervisors can't let a member return working without prior Human Resources section approval, the member's Manager/director, or Watch Commander
• After hours, the Manager, Director, or Watch Commander can review paperwork and determine eligibility to return to work