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Benefits
Andrews University
Berrien Springs, MI 49104-0840
Phone: 269. 471. 3886
Fax: 269. 471. 6293
benefits@andrews.edu
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Leave of Absence
Family and Medical Leave (FMLA)
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Eligibility:
All regular University employees working a minimum 20 hours per week.
Who Pays:
Employee
Effective Date:
After 12 months of service.
Description:
Eligible Employee: An Andrews University employee who has worked for
the university for at least 12 months in total, and for at least 1,250 hours
during the 12 month period immediately preceding the commencement of
leave is eligible for family and medical leave according to the Family
and Medical Leave Act of 1993 if they have been employed at least
half-time in any one of the following University classifications: HH, HP,
HF, SP, SF, AP, AF, FT, and FF.
Reasons for Leave: The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 provides
for leave for the following reasons:
- Birth or care of a child. Leave must be concluded within
one-year period commencing with the birth of a child. Where required,
the leave may begin prior to these dates.
- Child adoption or foster care of a child. Leave must be
concluded within a one-year period commencing with the date of placement
for adoption or foster care of a child at any age. Where required, the
leave may begin prior to these dates.
- Care of spouse, son, daughter, or parent if such individual has a
serious health condition and the employee is needed to care for the
family member.
- Employees own serious health condition which disables him/her from
performing functions of his/her job.
Duration of Leave: The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993
provides for up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in a 12 month period which
may be taken as an unbroken period or may be taken cumulatively.
However, if eligible employees have accrued paid leave benefits, they
will be required to use those accrued benefits to provide compensation
during all or any part of the 12 weeks leave. The use of accrued
benefits will not extend the duration of a family or medical leave.
Where the University employs both spouses, the leave is for a combined
total of twelve (12) weeks for both employees during the 12-month period,
except for a leave because of a serious health condition of the employee
or child.
Intermittent or Reduced Leaves: With mutual agreement between the
University and the employee, leave may be taken intermittently or at a
reduced leave schedule in the event of the birth, adoption, or foster
care of a child.
Employees have a right to take intermittent or reduced leave (half days)
when medically necessary to care for a spouse, child, or parent who has a
serious health condition or if the employee has a serious health
condition. An employee granted an intermittent or reduced leave schedule
may be required to temporarily transfer to an alternate position with
equal pay and benefits.
Where an employee takes an intermittent or reduced leave for an immediate
family member or because of the employees own serious health condition
based upon foreseeable planned medical treatment, the employee is
required to make a reasonable effort to schedule treatment so as to
unduly disrupt the operations of the University.
Application for Leave and Notice: The employee is required to
apply to the Andrews University Human Resources Office for leave at least
thirty (30) days prior to the beginning of the leave, except where the
leave is for the birth of child or adoption or foster care of a child or
where the date of treatment for the employee or family member is
scheduled to begin within less than thirty (30) days. Under such
circumstances the employee must apply for leave as soon as is
practicable. No advance notice or application is required where the
reason for the reason for the leave is not forseeable.
With the Application for Leave the employee must provide medical
certification detailing: date the serious health condition began,
probable duration; appropriate medical facts regarding the condition; a
statement that the employee is needed to care for the family member or
that the serious health condition prevents the employee from performing
his/her job; an estimate of the time needed: for intermittent leave or a
leave on a reduced schedule for planned medical treatment, the
application is to state the dates when the leave is expected to be given
and the duration of the treatment.
The University may at its discretion, require a second opinion, and if
there is not an agreement with the first opinion, a third opinion may be
required. The decision of the third opinion is binding. The second and
third opinion will be at the expense of the University.
The University may require the employee to provide periodic
recertification on a reasonable basis. If the leave has been because of
a serious medical condition of the employee, the University may require a
certificate before the employee returns to work.
Remuneration During the Leave: The leave granted under the Family
and Medical Leave Act of 1993 may or may not be with pay depending on the
employees vacation, paid leave or long-term sick bank benefit status. The
employee will be required to use all those accrued benefits during all
or any part of the 12 weeks leave. If the employees paid benefits are
exhausted, the remainder, if any, of the FMLA leave will be unpaid. The
use of accrued benefits will not extend the duration of a family or
medical leave.
Reinstatement and Maintenance of Benefits: During the course of this
medical or family leave the individual in question continues to be an
employee of the University entitled to the rights listed below.
Consequently this leave is not to be used when the employee has no
intention, or will obviously not have the ability, to return at the end
of the leave.
- The employee is entitled either to be restored to the position
held when the leave commenced or, at the employers option to an
equivalent position with equivalent benefits, pay, and other terms and
conditions of employment.
- The employee is entitled to any right, benefit, or position to
which the employee would have been entitled had he/she not taken the
leave.
- The employer will continue the health care coverage to which the
employee was entitled to throughout the period of the leave. The
employee may be required to pay his/her portion of the health care
premium throughout the period of the leave.
- If the employee does not return to his/her employment following
the leave, the University may require the employee to pay the Universitys
portion of the health care premium applicable to the unpaid portion of
the leave, unless the failure to return is because of:
- The continuation or reoccurrence or onset of a serious health
condition that entitles the employee to leave because of his/her own
illness or that of a family member, or
- For other circumstances beyond the control of the
employee.
- Full-time employees in classes HF, SF, AF, and FF continue to be
entitled to employer-provided Employee Survivor Benefit Plan during the
course of this leave. The benefits of that Plan are available in a
separate policy brochure at the Human Resources Office.
- The employee is NOT entitled to the accrual of any seniority
during the leave. Retirement service will not be earned on the unpaid
portion of the leave.
Employee Rights: The employee has certain rights provided by the
Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993:
- Exercise of Rights - It shall be unlawful for any employer to
interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of or the attempt to
exercise, any right provided under this title.
- Discrimination - It shall be unlawful for any employer to
discharge or in any other manner discriminate against any individual for
opposing any practice made unlawful by this title.
- Interference with Proceedings or Inquiries - It shall be unlawful
for any person to discharge or in any other manner discriminate against
any individual because such individual:
- Has filed any charge, or has instituted or cause to be instituted
any proceeding, under or related to this title;
- Has given or is about to give, nay information in connection with
any inquiry or proceeding relating to any right provided under this
title; or
- Has testified, or is about to testify, in any inquiry or
proceeding relating to any right provided under this title.
Definitions
For the purposes of this policy the following definitions apply, as found
in the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and the Family and Medical Leave
Act of 1993:
- Employee means any individual employed by the University.
- Employment Benefits means all benefits provided or made available
to employees by an employer, including group life insurance, health
insurance, disability insurance, sick leave, annual leave, educational
benefits, and pension, regardless of whether such benefits are provided
by a practice or written policy of an employer or through an "employee
benefit plan."
- Health Care Provider means a doctor of medicine or osteopathy who
is authorized to practice medicine or surgery; or any other person
determined by the Secretary of Labor to be capable of providing health
care services.
- Parent means biological parent of an employee or an individual
who stood in loco parentis to an employee when the employee was a
child. Parents "in law" are not included.
- Physical or Mental Disability means an impairment that
substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of an
individual.
- Reduced Leave Schedule means a leave schedule that reduces the
usual number of hours of an employee per work week, or hours per
workday.
- Serious Heath Condition means an illness, injury, impairment, or
physical or mental condition that involves:
- Any period of incapacity or treatment in connection with or
consequent to inpatient care (i.e., an overnight stay) in a hospital,
hospice, or residential medical care facility.
- Any Period of incapacity requiring absence from work, school, or
other regular daily activities, of more than three (3) calendar days,
that also involves continuing treatment by (or under the supervision of)
a health care provide;
- Continuing treatment by (or under the supervision of) a heath
care provider for a chronic or long-term health condition that in
incurable or so serious that if not treated, would likely result in a
period of incapacity of more than three (3) calendar days; and for
prenatal care.
- Voluntary or cosmetic treatments (such as most treatments for
orthodontia or acne) that are not medically necessary are not serious
health conditions, unless inpatient hospital care is required.
Restorative dental surgeries after an accident, providing all other
conditions are met. Treatment for allergies or stress, or for substance
abuse, is serious health conditions if all of the conditions of the
regulation are met. Prenatal care in included as a serious health
condition. Routine preventative physical examinations are excluded.
- Son or Daughter means a biological, adopted, or foster child, a
stepchild, a legal ward, or a child of a person standing in loco
parentis, who is (1) under 18 years of age or older or is (2) 18
years of age or older and incapable of self-care because of mental or
physical disability.
- Spouse means the husband or wife, as the case may be.
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Personal Leave
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Eligibility:
All regular full-time University employees working a minimum 35 hours per
week.
Who Pays:
Employee
Effective Date:
After one year of service.
Description:
Leaves of absence are to be considered as an exception. A personal leave
of absence is authorized time off without pay or salary. After you have
worked as a regular full-time employee for at least one year, a request
for a personal leave of absence may be considered by the president and/or
the Board of Trustees upon the recommendation of the department head and
the appropriate vice president.
The department head or manager and the appropriate administrative officer
may grant personal leaves of absence of up to one month for a staff
member. Leaves of absence in excess of one month must be approved by the
above and Human Resources Director.
Please complete this leave of absence application and submit it
to the Human Resources Director.
The Director of Human Resources will verify your eligibility to approval,
and administer the leave of absence once it has been approved. Plan to
request a leave of absence only under very specific circumstances, and
where possible four months before the leave is to begin.
University policies regarding a personal leave of absence are as
follows:
- Wages are not paid during the employees absence.
- Holidays will not be paid that fall within this period.
- Vacation and sick time will not accrue.
- No other benefits or subsidies will be paid, or service credit
accrue.
- Health insurance may be continued at the employees cost for a
maximum of one year (subject to approval by the insurance company) if
arrangements are made with Human Resources Benefits Specialist in advance
and payments are made according to the Policy.
- The staff employees position will be kept available if possible.
If the employees department is not able to keep the position available,
efforts will be made to place the employee in a similar position but the
University cannot guarantee the same duties or rate of pay.
- Accrued vacation time must be used before a leave of absence begins.
- Extensions of a leave of absence must be approved in writing
prior to the expiration of the employees original leave. These will be
granted in the same manner as the original leave. Failure to return
after the expiration of the leave of absence subjects the employee to
termination.
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Temporary Disability Leave
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Eligibility:
All regular full-time University employees working a minimum 35 hours per
week.
Who Pays:
Employee
Effective Date:
After one year of service.
Description:
The University policies regarding a personal leave of absence also
pertain to a temporary disability leave of absence with the following
exceptions:
- A temporary disability leave may be granted for up to a total of
six months (including six weeks of medical leave) absence from work.
- The length of your temporary disability leave is determined by your
years of denominational service. If you have had less than full-time service those years
will be pro-rated.
- Faculty and salaried employees are entitled to two weeks of paid
sick leave per year. The maximum paid sick leave that may be taken within a calendar
year is 180 days.
- A temporary disability leave can only be granted by the
president after counsel with the appropriate administrators and the vice
president for academic administration.
- Hourly employees are required to use their Long Term sick bank
prior to taking a temporary disability leave of absence.
- Prior to returning to work, the employee is required to present a
physicians statement to the department head giving approval for returning
to work.
- As soon as an employee is aware that an anticipated temporary
disability leave of absence is necessary, the University requires from
the employees physician the recommended commencement and termination time
for the leave.
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Medical Leave
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Eligibility:
Faculty and Salaried Employees of the University.
AP, FP, SP on a pro-rated basis.
Who Pays:
University
Effective Date:
Upon Employment
Description:
Faculty and salaried personnel ordinarily remain on the payroll for up to
six weeks within a given twelve month period for temporary absence from
work due to their own illness, injury, hospitalization, pregnancy, etc.
Arrangements for sick leave should be made with the department chair or
supervisor.
Before returning to work, the faculty or salaried staff member may be
required to submit a statement from his/her physicians stipulating any
temporary restrictions or limitations which need to be placed on his/her
work program.
If a deterioration in an employees work performance indicates that the
change may be due to a physical or mental condition, perhaps requiring
sick leave, the department chair or supervisor in counsel with the
university administration, may counsel the employee to take sick leave
and, if it seems advisable, may require a physicians and/or psychologists
statement as appropriate to the employees ability to continue work.
(Working Policy 2:391)
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Disability Leave
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Eligibility:
Faculty and Salaried Employees of the University.
AP, FP, SP on a pro-rated basis.
Who Pays:
University
Effective Date:
Upon employment.
Description:
A faculty member who is deemed by a physician to be medically or
psychologically unfit to return to full-time employment after an absence
from work of six weeks shall be granted a temporary disability leave for
up to a total of six months absence from work. A temporary disability
leave can only be granted by the president after counsel with the
appropriate administrators and the vice president for academic
administration. Should a faculty member still be disabled after six
months he/she shall only at the vote of the Andrews University Board of
Trustees be allowed to remain on the payroll for a specified time.
(Working Policy 2:392)
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