Homewood Schools Academic Council Procedures

Homewood Schools
Academic Council Procedures Manual

The Family and Medical Leave Act Guidelines
for Tenured & Tenure-track Faculty, Other Faculty,
and Appointed Research Positions
School of Arts and Sciences and
G.W.C. Whiting School of Engineering

All faculty (including tenured, tenure-track, and other faculty as well as those in appointed research positions in the Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences and the Whiting School of Engineering) who have been employed at least one year are entitled to up to 12 weeks of Family and Medical Leave per fiscal year, provided they have worked 1,250 hours (or a minimum of 50% time) in the previous year. At the discretion of the Dean, leave may be extended up to one entire semester, or, as in the case of parental leave, additional time may be granted. 1

Family/Medical Leave may be taken for the following reasons:
1. the birth and first-year care of the faculty member's child;
2. the adoption or foster placement of a child and the first-year care of the child;
3. the care of the faculty member's parent, child, or spouse who has a serious health condition; and
4. the faculty member's own serious health condition that prevents him/her from performing the essential functions of the job.

A faculty member who desires to take leave for one of the preceding qualifying reasons should submit a request to his/her Department Chair 30 days prior to the beginning of leave, or as soon as practicable, to allow departments to make arrangements for teaching and research. The Chair will forward the request to the Dean for approval.

For qualifying reasons #3 and #4, a faculty member is required to complete a Certification of Health Care Provider and return it to the university's Office of Occupational Health when that leave commences, or within fifteen days after a request for certification. Subsequent, or follow-up, certification may also be requested by the university. Certification forms are available in the department administrative office. If the leave is due to the faculty member's own serious health condition, he/she will also be required to submit a medical release from his/her health care provider upon return to work.

If the faculty member does not cooperate in providing medical certification of the illness for which leave is requested, leave time will automatically be subtracted from the 12 week allotment of Family and Medical Leave for that fiscal year. Faculty on nine-month appointments should not be placed on leave during the summer months of June, July, or August.

Health, dental, life, and disability insurance benefits remain in effect during leaves, provided the faculty member pays any required premiums. Determination as to whether the leave is approved as paid or unpaid is made by the Dean. In general, leave will be paid, or unpaid, as follows:

Parental Leave (to care for a new child) will be unpaid. Parental leave may be granted for up to one year.
Maternity Leave for a faculty member giving birth will be paid for the first eight weeks. Additional leave, up to a total of one year, will be considered parental leave and will be unpaid. (For pregnancy complications, see MLOA.)
Medical Leave of Absence (MLOA), for a serious physical or mental illness, or for childbirth complications, will be paid for up to 90 days. Beyond 90 days, the faculty member may apply for disability insurance payments.
Leave to care for an ill family member will be unpaid.
Intermittent or Reduced Schedule Leave with an appropriate reduction in pay will be considered by the Dean on a case by case basis
Other Faculty and Appointed Research Positions may be granted up to 12 weeks leave, provided they return to work within the contracted period of appointment, and provided the position otherwise would still exist.

The university will administer this leave under its Family and Medical Leave Policy and the Family and Medical Leave Act. In all cases, the legal interpretation of the Family and Medical Leave Act will take precedence. Copies of the Family and Medical Leave Policy, which appears in the Johns Hopkins University Personnel Policy Manual, may be obtained from the Human Resource Managers of the Schools of Arts and Sciences and Engineering. The Policy may also be found on the Internet (www.jhu.edu/news- info/policy/family.html). Copies of the Family and Medical Leave Act may be obtained from the university's General Counsel's Office.

1 Leave time may be extended, at the direction of the Dean, beyond the 12 weeks specified by FMLA. However, the extension of leave is not required by law, nor does it affect subsequent eligibility for Family and Medical Leave.

A&S HR Office

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