Consult the Employee FMLA Leave Process Flowchart for a visual overview of the steps.
If you are an eligible employee taking leave for an FMLA-qualifying reason, you must apply for FML. Your eligibility and FML leave balance will be reviewed if you need additional leave later. Other leave options may be possible if you use all your FML entitlement.
You can use accrued paid time off, or if you do not have available paid time, talk to your supervisor about options for an unpaid leave of absence. FML runs concurrently with any workers’ compensation payments and any paid or unpaid time you use. You may elect to use unpaid leave or to use paid time off to supplement workers’ compensation payments up to the amount of your normal wages.
FML is restricted to parents, children, or spouses and applies only to serious illnesses, including some chronic health conditions that may cause episodic rather than foreseeable illnesses. Routine illnesses like the common cold or flu, earaches, upset stomach, minor ulcers, and headaches other than migraine are not serious health conditions for purposes of FML.
If the leave is foreseeable (for example, if you are planning to have surgery or are pregnant), please provide your supervisor at least 30 days’ notice.
If you cannot give advance notice, and the leave is immediate or unforeseeable (for example, if you are receiving emergency medical care), give your supervisor verbal notice as soon as possible.
Explain when and for how long you expect to be on leave. You do not need to discuss your medical condition or family circumstances with your supervisor, only how your ability to work is affected.
Provide a completed Employee Request for Family and Medical Leave form to your supervisor as soon as possible, but no later than 15 calendar days following the verbal request for leave, absent extenuating circumstances.
Your supervisor or human resources representative will confirm your eligibility and provide you with a completed Notice of Eligibility and Rights & Responsibilities form. They will also indicate whether a medical or exigency certification is required. Requested certifications must be returned to your supervisor or human resources representative within 15 days.
Once your supervisor or human resources representative has determined that complete certification has been provided, you will be provided a completed Designation Notice indicating that the leave can be counted as FML.
Note: If you prefer, you may submit your FML request and paperwork directly to the Division of Human Resources rather than to your supervisor. To do so, contact the Division of Human Resources Leave Advising Team. Leave advisors are also available to answer questions you may have.