HOW THE FAMILY MEDICAL LEAVE ACT PERTAINS TO YOU
US Airways' policy for availability is of
concern to us all. Assistant
Managers are calling Flight Attendants in to inform them that too many days have been missed.
If you need to miss time from work due to a personal
medical or family reason, you may be entitled to protected leave under the
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The
law provides eligible employees the right to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave
from work (in a 12 month period) due to a serious health condition or to take
care of a seriously ill family member. Time off from work for pregnancy, pre-natal care or the
birth, placement or adoption of a child also is covered under FMLA.
In addition, the FMLA permits you to take leave on an
intermittent basis or to work a reduced schedule when medically necessary to
care for a seriously ill family member, or because of your own serious
condition. Intermittent leave is
not available to care for a well newborn or newly placed adopted or foster care
child.
It is important to know that if you and your spouse both
work for America West Airlines, family leave is limited to a combined total of
12 weeks. This applies for the
birth and care of a newborn, the placement of a child for adoption or foster
care, and to care for a newly placed child.
This is also true for the care of a parent that is seriously ill.
Of you qualify for FMLA leave, the Company will pay out
your accrued sick bank if it is for a personal illness.
FMLA runs concurrent with other leaves such as Short Term Disability.
The great thing
about FMLA leave is that it cannot be used against you…Your job and your
benefits are protected….And the Company may not count FMLA absences under
their disciplinary availability policy.
Although America West Airlines policy and procedures
regarding FMLA are included in your employee handbook, here are some questions
and answers that will help you to better understand your rights under this law.
Q:
Am I eligible for FMLA leave?
To be eligible you must have worked for America West
Airlines for a minimum of 12 months prior to your FMLA leave.
Q:
Who is an eligible family member under the FMLA?
The employee, spouse, children under 18 yrs.
of age and parents.
Q:
What is considered a serious health condition?
A serious health condition is an illness, injury,
impairment or physical or mental condition that involves one or more of the
following:
-
Inpatient hospital care
(i.e.: an overnight stay at a hospital or similar facility)
-
An injury, illness or other
condition causing incapacity lasting more than 3 consecutive days that
involves continuing treatment by a health care provider.
NOTE: Minor
illnesses, such as colds or flu, ordinarily do not qualify.
-
Pregnancy
-
A chronic serious health
condition (i.e.: asthma, diabetes, arthritis, etc).
-
A long-term permanently
disabling health condition (i.e.: terminal disease).
-
A condition requiring
multiple treatments to prevent a period of incapacity (i.e. physical
therapy, dialysis etc).
Q:
How do I notify US Airways that I need FMLA leave?
You must contact your Assistant Manager (Supervisor) and
the Inflight Administration department. You
must explain the reason for your need for FMLA leave so that the Company
understands that a serious health condition exists.
If the leave is foreseeable the Company requests at least 30 days advance
notice. Childbirth or planned
surgeries are usually foreseeable. Contact
Inflight Administration with your request and fill out the appropriate
paperwork.
Q:
What if I need to use the FMLA right away?
If the leave is unforeseeable then the law provides that
you give notice as soon as practicable
Q:
How much information do I have to give the Company?
Do I have to give them my diagnosis or medial records?
You will need to give the Company enough information so
that they are aware that the condition is a serious one.
You are not required to give a specific diagnosis or provide medical
records. However, the Company can
require that you provide medical certification from your health care provider
confirming that a serious health condition exists.
Q: How
many credit hours must I work in the last 12 months to qualify for FMLA?
You need to have worked a minimum of 625 credit
hours for the last 12 month period.
Q: How many days of FMLA am I entitled to if I have
worked the minimum of 625 credit hours for the last 12 months?
If you have met the minimum requirements you are entitled
to 84 days of FMLA per rolling calendar year. This means if you used 30 hours of
FMLA in June of 2000 you would have 54 hours of FMLA available to use until June
of 2001, at which time you would be entitled to an additional 30 hours of FMLA.
Q: If
both me and my spouse work for the company and we want to use FMLA to care for a
family member, how much time to we get for FMLA?
If you both work for the company and you need time to
care for a family member then you both share the FMLA.
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