You are eligible for up to 12 work weeks of unpaid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) if you have been employed for at least 12 months and you have worked at least 1,250 hours during the 12-month period prior to the start of the FMLA leave. Our organization uses the rolling 12-month period measured forward from the first date that FMLA leave is taken to establish the period during which the 12 weeks of leave entitlement can be used.
If you meet the eligibility requirements, you are eligible for up to 26 weeks of leave to care for an Injured Service member, as set forth in Section II E below.
An FMLA leave maybe requested for any of the following reasons:
FMLA leave is unpaid leave. Any paid time used during FMLA, including paid time under this restaurant’s workers’ compensation program, will apply as part of the 12-week (or where applicable, the 26-week) leave period.
If your need for FMLA leave is foreseeable, you must give your general manager at least 30 days prior notice or as much notice as is practicable. If the need for leave is not foreseeable, then you are expected to provide notice to your general manager as soon as practicable, generally the same day or the next business day you learn of the need for leave. Failure to provide such notice may be grounds for delay or denial of leave and may result in adverse employment actions.
If you are requesting leave, you must:
If you are requesting leave for a Qualifying Exigency or to care for an Injured Service member, certification forms are also required. Certification forms are available from your general manager. These completed certification forms must be provided to the general manager within 15 calendar days after they are requested.
During the leave, this restaurant will maintain your group health benefits (if applicable) on the same conditions as if you had continued working your regular schedule. You must make arrangements with your general manager to pay your portion of the premium during your unpaid leave. Your group health care coverage will cease if your premium payment is more than 30 days late, but you will be notified at least 15 days before your coverage lapses. Additionally, if you fail to return from leave, this restaurant may require repayment of any premium that was paid for maintaining the health coverage for you, unless you do not return because of your continuing or recurring serious health condition or that of a covered family member, or because of other circumstances beyond your control.
f you take an FMLA leave, you are generally entitled to return to your position or to an equivalent position with equal benefits, pay and other terms and conditions of employment, subject to any applicable exceptions. In addition, you have no greater rights to reinstatement or to other benefits and conditions of employment than if you had not taken FMLA leave. If you are off work on FMLA leave for your own serious health condition (other than for an intermittent leave) you may be required to fully complete a form certifying that you are able to return to work before you can be returned to active status. If you wish to return to work prior to the expiration of an FMLA leave of absence, notification must be given to your general manager at least two (2) business days prior to your planned return.
Employee Medical, Family Medical and Injured Service member leave may be taken intermittently (in separate blocks of time due to a single covered health condition) or on a reduced work schedule (reducing the usual number of hours you work per work week or work day) if medically necessary. Qualifying Exigency leave may also be taken intermittently or on a reduced work schedule basis. While you are on an intermittent or reduced schedule leave for planned medical treatment, this restaurant may temporarily transfer you to an available alternative position that better accommodates your recurring leave and which has equivalent pay and benefits. If you are certified to take FMLA leave on an intermittent or reduced leave schedule basis, you must advise your general manager at the time of your absence from work if the absence is for your certified FMLA reason.
If you fail to return to work upon the expiration of an FMLA leave of absence you may be subject to immediate termination unless an extension is granted. An employee who requests an extension of leave due to the continuation, recurrence or onset of her or his own serious health condition, or of the serious health condition of the employee’s spouse, child or parent, must submit a request for an extension, in writing, to your general manager. This written request should be made as soon as the employee realizes that she or he will not be able to return at the expiration of the leave period. This restaurant considers additional leave for persons with disabilities on a case-by-case basis in accordance with applicable law.
The application of this policy, and the procedures and definitions set forth herein, may be modified in accordance with changes in applicable law and regulations.
If state law provides for job protected family or medical leave, the state leave and the FMLA leave will run concurrently if permitted by law. The FMLA does not supersede any state or local law which provides greater family or medical leave rights, and an employee will receive all benefits and protections to which an employee is entitled under any and all applicable leave laws.