28 Miss. Code. R. 305-4.3 - Administrative Leave - FMLA

A. Introduction. The MSPA provides leave according to the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 ("FMLA"), which provides for unpaid, job-protected leave to covered employees in certain circumstances.

B. Eligibility. To qualify for FMLA leave, you must:

(1) have worked for the MSPA for at least 12 months, though it need not be consecutive;

(2) worked at least 1,250 hours in the last 12 months; and

(3) be employed at a work site that has 50 or more employees within 75 miles. Employees must contact the Human Resources Officer for additional information if they believe they qualify for leave under this Act.

C. Leave Policy. If eligible, you may take up to 12 or 26 weeks of family or medical leave, whichever is applicable (as explained below), within the relevant 12-month period defined below. While you are on FMLA leave, the MSPA will maintain your group health insurance coverage at the same level and under the same circumstances as when you were actively working, as explained more fully under the section titled, Medical and Other Benefits. Upon returning from approved FMLA leave, you have the right to be restored to the same job or an equivalent position, subject to the terms, limitations and exceptions provided by law.

D. Leave Entitlement. You may take up to 12 weeks of unpaid FMLA leave in a 12-month period, which is defined using a "rolling" method that is measured backward from the date you use any FMLA leave for any of the following reasons:

3. the birth of a son or daughter and in order to care for such son or daughter (leave to be completed within one year of the child's birth);

4. the placement of a son or daughter with you for adoption or foster care and in order to care for the newly placed son or daughter (leave to be completed within one year of the child's placement);

5. to care for a spouse, son, daughter or parent with a serious health condition;

6. to care for your own serious health condition, which renders you unable to perform any of the essential functions of your position; or

7. the birth of a son or daughter and in order to care for such son or daughter (leave to be completed within one year of the child's birth);

8. a qualifying exigency of a spouse, son, daughter or parent who is a military member on covered active duty or call to covered active duty status (or has been notified of an impending call or order to covered active duty).

9. You may take up to 26 weeks of unpaid FMLA leave in a single 12-month period, beginning on the first day that you take FMLA leave to care for a spouse, son, daughter or next of kin who is a covered service member and who has a serious injury or illness related to active duty service, as defined by the FMLA's regulations, (known as military caregiver leave).

E. Spouses Employed by the MSPA. Spouses who are both employed by the MSPA and eligible for FMLA leave may be limited in some circumstances. Employees should contact the Human Resources Officer for additional information if they believe they qualify for leave under this particular provision of the Act.

F. Notice of Leave. If your need for FMLA leave is foreseeable, you must give the MPSA at least 30 days' prior written notice. If this is not possible, you must at least give notice as soon as practicable (within one to two business days of learning of your need for leave). Failure to provide such notice may be grounds for delaying FMLA-protected leave, depending on the particular facts and circumstances. Additionally, if you are planning a medical treatment or a series of treatments or you are taking military caregiver leave, you must consult with the MSPA first regarding the dates of such treatment to work out a schedule that best suits the needs of both the employee or the covered military member, if applicable, and the MSPA. Where the need for leave is not foreseeable, you are expected to notify. Please submit a written request, the Human Resources Officer, when requesting leave under the Act.

G. Certification of Need for Leave. The MSPA reserves the right to request a relevant healthcare provider to supply the appropriate medical certification as provided in the Act. Failure by the employee to provide the MSPA requested medical certification in a timely manner may result in denial of FMLA-covered leave until it is provided.

H. Request for Reexamination by the MSPA. The MSPA, at its expense, may require an examination by a second healthcare provider designated by the MSPA. If the second healthcare provider's opinion conflicts with the original medical certification, the MSPA, at its expense, may require a third, mutually agreeable, healthcare provider to conduct an examination and provide a final and binding opinion. The MSPA may require subsequent medical recertification.

I. Reporting While on Leave. If you take leave because of your own serious health condition or to care for a covered relation, you must contact the MSPA on a bi-weekly basis regarding the status of the condition and your intention to return to work. In addition, you must give notice as soon as practicable (within two business days if feasible) if the dates of leave change or are extended or initially were unknown.

J. Leave is Unpaid. FMLA leave is unpaid. You may be required to substitute any accrued and unused sick days/personal days for unpaid FMLA leave as described below:

1. If you request leave because of a birth, adoption or foster care placement of a child, any accrued and unused paid leave may be first be substituted for unpaid family/medical leave and run concurrently with your FMLA leave.

2. If you request leave because of your own serious health condition, or to care for a covered relation with a serious health condition, any accrued paid personal leave or medical leave may be substituted for any unpaid family/medical leave and run concurrently with your FMLA leave.

3. The substitution of paid leave time for unpaid FMLA leave time does not extend the 12 or 26 weeks (whichever is applicable) of the FMLA leave period. In no case can the substitution of paid leave time for unpaid leave time result in your receipt of more than 100% of your salary. Your FMLA leave runs concurrently with other types of leave, for example, accrued vacation time that is substituted for unpaid FMLA leave and any state family leave laws, to the extent allowed by Mississippi state law.

K. Medical and Other Benefits. During approved FMLA leave, the MSPA will maintain your health benefits as if you continued to be actively employed. If paid leave is substituted for unpaid FMLA leave, the MSPA will deduct your portion of the health plan premium as a regular payroll deduction. If your leave is unpaid, you must pay your portion of the premium. Your healthcare coverage will cease if your premium payment is more than 30 days late. If your payment is more than 15 days late, the MSPA will send you a letter to this effect. If the MSPA does not receive your premium payment within 15 days after the date of this letter, your coverage may cease. If you elect not to return to work for at least 30 calendar days at the end of the leave period, you will be required to reimburse the MSPA for the cost of the health benefit premiums paid by the MSPA for maintaining coverage during your unpaid leave, unless you cannot return to work because of a serious health condition or other circumstances beyond your control.

L. Returning from Leave. If you take leave because of your own serious health condition (except if you are taking intermittent leave), you are required, as are all employees returning from other types of medical leave, to provide medical certification that you are fit to resume work. Otherwise, you will not be permitted to resume work until it is provided.

Notes

28 Miss. Code. R. 305-4.3

Mississippi Code §§ 59-1-1, 59-1-9 and 59-5-21

Amended 5/28/2020 Amended 12/3/2020