Family and Medical Leave Act
(90 days or less)
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), leave for three months or less, will meet most employees’ needs. FMLA provides eligible employees with up to 12-weeks (60-days) of unpaid, job-protected leave for qualifying family and medical reasons with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave. To ensure that BCPS and other employers consistently implement the provisions set forth under FMLA, the regulation states that employees must meet the following requirements to be eligible for Family and Medical Leave (FML):
• Have been employed for at least twelve (12) months; and
• Have worked at least 1,250 hours during the twelve (12) consecutive months immediately preceding the date the employee's leave would begin.
These eligibility requirements apply to all permanent BCPS employees represented by AFSCME, CASE, ESPBC, OPE, TABCO and non-represented hourly and salaried personnel.
For more information regarding FMLA, please see the FMLA Information Poster. Since FMLA is unpaid leave, the leave runs concurrently with the employee’s available paid leave time (i.e., personal illness leave, vacation, etc.). Under FMLA, employees may take leave as follows:
Up to twelve workweeks of leave in a 12-month period for:
- birth of a child and to care for the newborn child within one year of birth;
- placement with the employee of a child for adoption or foster care and to care for the newly placed child within one year of placement;
- to care for the employee’s spouse, child, or parent who has a serious health condition;
- a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the essential functions of his or her job;
- qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that the employee’s spouse, son, daughter, or parent is a covered military member on “covered active duty;” or
Up to twenty-six workweeks of leave during a single 12-month period to care for a covered servicemember with a serious injury or illness if the eligible employee is the servicemember’s spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin (military caregiver leave).
Below are the steps to apply for FMLA leave.
Step 1: Read the information about the type of leave you are seeking.
Step 2: BCPS requires that an employee submit a medical certification to support the employee’s need for FMLA leave. The certification is a document or form that is completed by that appropriate health care provider.
Required documentation:
Step 3: Once your medical certification packet has been completed by your Health Care Provider, return the packet by clicking here to submit your Leave of Absence application online -Online Leaves Application Submission.
Click here to view instructions for submitting your FMLA absence application.