Administrative Policy #3.16 - Family Medical and Military Leave

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Purpose

The City of Corvallis is subject to the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA), Oregon Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Fund (also known as Paid Leave Oregon), and the Oregon Military Family Leave Act (OMFLA). 

FMLA and OFLA entitles eligible employees to take unpaid protected leave for specified family and medical reasons. FMLA and OFLA is unpaid unless an employee has sick, vacation, or other accrued paid leave available to use.

Oregon Military Family Leave Act or OMFLA — a separate law from OFLA — is limited to covered deployments of an eligible employee’s spouse or same-gender domestic partner. Military caregiver leave is available under the FMLA but not OFLA.

Oregon Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Fund (also known as Paid Leave Oregon) provides eligible employees paid insurance benefits and protected leave for specified family, medical, and safety reasons. Paid Leave Oregon is administered by Oregon Employment Department not the City of Corvallis. The City of Corvallis is expressly responsible for job protection and benefits continuation under ORS 657B and for collecting the Paid Leave Oregon payroll tax from employees.

If a circumstance arises to which FMLA, OFLA, and Paid Leave Oregon apply, all qualifying entitlements will run down concurrently. OAR 839-009-0220(1); 29 CFR § 825.701(a).

Definitions

Covered Family Member (also see Covered Family Member Attachment):

  • a. FMLA:  The employee's spouse, parent, son, or daughter under age 18 or over age 18 and incapable of self-care because of physical or mental impairment as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act.
  • b. In Loco Parentis:  In the place of a parent; financially supporting and having day-to-day responsibility for the care of a child. Legal or biological relationship is not required.
  • c. OFLA:  The employee's spouse, same-gender domestic partner, biological parent, adoptive parent, foster parent, parent-in-law, parent of same-gender domestic partner, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling. It includes the minor or adult biological, adopted, foster, or stepchild of the employee or the child of the employee's same-sex domestic partner. It includes a sibling or stepsibling of a covered individual or the sibling’s or stepsibling’s spouse or domestic partner. It includes the natural, adopted, or foster child when the employee is or was in loco parentis. It also includes any individual related by blood or affinity whose close association with a covered individual is the equivalent of a family relationship.
  • d. Next of Kin of Covered Service Member/Veteran OFMLA:  The nearest blood relative other than the covered service member's or veteran's parent, son, or daughter in the following order of priority:  1. One (1) designated blood relative (in writing); if none, 2. All blood relatives with legal custody; if none, 3. All brothers and sisters; if none, 4. All grandparents; if none, 5. All aunts and uncles; if none, 6. All first cousins.

Key Employee:  A salaried employee who is among the highest-paid ten (10) percent of all those employed by the City.  The City may deny job restoration to a key employee after FMLA leave, if such denial is necessary to prevent substantial and grievous economic injury to the operations of the City.

Leave Year:  The City of Corvallis leave year is a 12-month period measured forward from the date of the employee’s first leave. Under the “measured forward” method, an employee would be entitled to twelve (12) weeks of leave during the year beginning on the first date leave is taken. The next 12-month period would begin the first time leave is taken after completion of any previous 12-month period.

Parental Leave:  FMLA, OFLA, and Paid Leave Oregon provide parental leave for an eligible employee to bond with and care for the employee’s newborn, newly adopted or newly placed foster child under 18 years of age, or for a newly adopted or newly placed foster child 18 years of age or older who is incapable of self-care because of a physical or mental impairment. Parental leave may include time spent attending the birth of or giving birth to the employee’s child. Parental leave also includes leave time to effectuate the legal process required for placement of a foster child or the adoption of a child.

Qualifying Event (also see Qualifying Event Attachment):  Leave laws require covered employers to provide eligible employees with protected time to deal with qualifying events of the employee or the employee’s covered family member

Serious Health Condition:  FMLA and OFLA allow eligible employees to take leave to care for a family member with a serious health condition or to recover from or seek treatment for a serious health condition of the employee. The definition of a serious health condition under both laws is similar. In general, a serious health condition is an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that falls into one or more categories. These categories are:

  1. Hospital care: Inpatient care (i.e., overnight stay) in a hospital, hospice, or residential medical care facility, including any period of incapacity or subsequent treatment in connection with or consequent to such inpatient care.
  2. Absence plus treatment: A period of incapacity of more than three (3) consecutive calendar days (including any period of incapacity or subsequent treatment relating to the same condition), that also involves:
  • a. Treatments two (2) or more times by a licensed healthcare provider, nurse, or physician's assistant under direct supervision of a healthcare provider, or by a provider of healthcare services (e.g., physical therapist) under orders of, or on referral by, a healthcare provider, or
  • b. Treatment by a healthcare provider on at least one (1) occasion which results in a regimen of continuing treatment under supervision of the healthcare provider.
    • Treatment includes examinations to determine if a serious health condition exists and evaluations of the condition. Treatment DOES NOT include routine physical, dental, or eye examinations.
    • A regimen of continuing treatment includes, for example, a course of prescription medication (e.g., an antibiotic) or therapy requiring special equipment to resolve or alleviate the health condition. A regimen of treatment DOES NOT include the taking of over-the-counter medications such as aspirin, antihistamines, or salves; or bed-rest, drinking fluids, exercise, or any other similar activities that can be initiated without a visit to a healthcare provider.
      • Treatment includes examinations to determine if a serious health condition exists and evaluations of the condition. Treatment DOES NOT include routine physical, dental, or eye examinations.
      • A regimen of continuing treatment includes, for example, a course of prescription medication (e.g., an antibiotic) or therapy requiring special equipment to resolve or alleviate the health condition. A regimen of treatment DOES NOT include the taking of over-the-counter medications such as aspirin, antihistamines, or salves; or bed-rest, drinking fluids, exercise, or any other similar activities that can be initiated without a visit to a healthcare provider.

   3. Pregnancy: Any period of incapacity due to pregnancy,  pregnancy-related illness, or for prenatal care.

   4. Chronic conditions requiring treatments: A chronic serious health condition is one which:

  • a. Requires periodic visits for treatment by a healthcare provider, nurse, or physician's assistant under direct supervision of a healthcare provider;
  • b. Continues over an extended period of time (including recurring episodes of a single underlying condition); and
  • c. May cause episodic rather than continuing periods of incapacity (e.g., asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, etc.)

   5. Permanent/long-term conditions requiring supervision: A period of incapacity that is permanent or long-term due to a condition for which treatment may not be effective. The employee or family member must be under the continuing supervision of, but need not be receiving active treatment by, a healthcare provider. Examples include Alzheimer's, a severe stroke or the terminal states of a disease.

   6. Multiple treatments (non-chronic conditions): Any period of absence to receive multiple treatments (including any period of recovery therefrom) by a healthcare provider or by a provider of healthcare services under orders of, or on referral by, a healthcare provider, either of restorative surgery after an accident or other injury, or for a condition that would likely result in a period of incapacity of more than three consecutive calendar days in the absence of medical intervention or treatment, such as cancer (chemotherapy, radiation, etc.), severe arthritis (physical therapy), kidney disease (dialysis).

Policy

This Policy is set forth to ensure compliance with applicable Federal and State laws to provide information to employees requiring this type of leave and to provide guidance to supervisors in administering leave. 

Procedures

Leave Process

Requesting Leave

When foreseeable, employees must provide Human Resources with thirty (30) days advance written notice using the Protected Leave Request form. If the 30-day notice is not possible, the employee must give as much advance notice as practicable. When leave is not foreseeable, the employee or their support person must give notice as soon as possible and practical, or within twenty-four (24) hours of when leave begins.

For the purposes of OMFLA, the employee must provide Human Resources with notice of the intent to take leave within five (5) business days of receiving official notice of an impending call or order to active duty or of a leave from deployment.

Within five (5) business days of the employee's request, or the City has knowledge that an absence is FMLA- or OFLA-qualifying, Human Resources will respond with the Family Medical Leave Notice of Eligibility Rights and Responsibilities. Such notification to the employee is not required when an employee uses OFLA Sick Child Leave.

To request Paid Leave Oregon benefits, employees must apply through the Oregon Employment Department. Employees are required to give the City written notice at least 30 days before commencing a period of Family Leave, Medical Leave, or Safe Leave through Paid Leave Oregon, unless giving the advance notice is not feasible. If an eligible employee fails to give notice as required, the Oregon Employment Department may reduce the first weekly benefit amount payable to the employee under ORS 657B.090 by up to 25 percent.

Medical Certification

Employees may be required to provide medical certification from a health care provider to support a request for FMLA or OFLA leave and to determine the qualifications of a serious health condition. The City will accept the Oregon Bureau of Labor & Industries (BOLI) Oregon and Federal Family and Medical Leave Health Care Provider Certification Form or Paid Leave Oregon Verification of Serious Health Condition Form as medical certification.

When medical certification is required and the employee has provided thirty (30) days advance notice, the medical certification is required prior to the leave commencing. When a 30-day notice is not possible, the employee or the employee's spokesperson has fifteen (15) calendar days after receiving the Family Medical Leave Notice of Eligibility Rights and Responsibilities to provide the medical certification. The City will pay the employee's out-of-pocket expenses for health care provider certifications. Employees must submit receipts from their health care provider to Human Resources for such reimbursement.

Medical certification is not required for parental leave, OMFLA, bereavement leave under OFLA, or for a FMLA-qualified exigency leave; however, an employee may be required to provide documentation of a birth, adoption, foster child placement, or service member deployment status.

Employees who use Sick Child Leave on more than three (3) occasions in a 12-month period may be required to provide medical certification for subsequent use of Sick Child Leave.

If the employee fails to provide the required certification prior to the leave or within the requested period or if the certification is incomplete, the City may delay or deny the use of protected leave. If the employee never provides the required certification, the leave may not qualify as FMLA, OFLA, or OMFLA leave unless enough information has been provided to designate it.

An employee unable to work because of a workers' compensation injury need not re-qualify in order to use OFLA leave following a period the employee is off work due to the compensable injury.

An employee who has taken serious health condition leave to care for a family member who dies during the employee's serious health condition leave need not re-qualify to take leave for the death of that family member.

For information on return to work (fitness-for-duty) medical certification, please see Reinstatement.

Designation

Within five (5) business days of receiving enough information to determine whether the leave is being taken for a qualifying reason, Human Resources will provide the employee with the Family Medical Leave Designation Notice. This notice will provide notice of eligibility; approval or denial; medical certification requirements, fitness-for-duty release requirements; the number of hours, days, or weeks to be counted as FMLA or OFLA leave; the expected return-to-work date; and the use-of-paid-leave-accrual requirements. The Family Medical Leave Designation Notice may also be used to inform the employee that more information is required to make a decision.

Concurrent Leave Among City Employees

When two or more family members work for the City, employees are entitled to FMLA/OFLA leave; however, they may not take family leave at the same time unless:

  • a. One employee needs to care for the other employee who is suffering from a serious health condition,
  • b. One employee needs to care for a child who has a serious health condition while the other employee is also suffering from a serious health condition,
  • c. Two or more eligible family members are suffering from one or more serious health conditions,
  • d. The employees are taking leave as bereavement leave for the death of a family member under OFLA, or
  • e. Human Resources has given written permission for a concurrent leave.

Recordkeeping Requirements

FMLA requires employers to maintain records indicating the dates that leave is taken by each employee. Additionally, employers must retain all family leave tracking records and related medical certification for a minimum of three years.

The employee's supervisor is responsible for tracking the qualified FMLA/OFLA leave and ensuring it is correctly coded for payroll purposes. Supervisors are required to maintain records that include the dates of qualified FMLA/OFLA leaves and hours of leave if taken intermittently.

Records and documents relating to medical certifications, re-certifications, or medical histories of employees or employees' family members created for purposes of the FMLA must be maintained as confidential medical records in separate files/records from the usual personnel files. Records and documents created for the purposes of FMLA will be maintained in accordance with the confidentiality requirements of Title II of the Genetic Information Non-discrimination Act (GINA) of 2008.

Job Reinstatement Protection

 

Under the FMLA, an employee returning from protected leave is entitled to be returned to an equivalent position that is virtually identical to the employee’s former position in terms of pay, benefits, and working conditions, including privileges, perquisites, and status. The FMLA does not protect employees from bona fide reductions in force.

Under OFLA and OMFLA, an employee returning from protected leave is entitled to be returned to the employee’s former position, i.e., the position employee held when leave commenced regardless of whether the job has been renamed or reclassified. If the employee’s position has been eliminated, OFLA then requires the City to restore the employee to any available, equivalent position. OFLA and OMFLA do not protect employees from bona fide reductions in force.

Under Paid Leave Oregon, an employee returning from protected leave who was employed by the City for at least 90 days before taking leave, is entitled to be returned to the employee’s former position, i.e., the position employee held when leave commenced regardless of whether the job has been renamed or reclassified. If the employee’s position has been eliminated, Paid Leave Oregon requires the City to restore the employee to any available, equivalent position. Paid Leave Oregon does not protect employees from bona fide reductions in force.

The City may deny job restoration to an employee who is determined to be a key employee after a FMLA leave if such denial is necessary to prevent substantial and grievous economic injury to the operations of the City.

Employees are expected to return to work on the date identified on the Family Medical Leave Designation Notice or to notify their supervisor prior to that date if circumstances have changed. If circumstances have changed, the employee may be required to provide additional medical certification.

If you are requesting leave for your own serious health condition, you are required to provide the City with a fitness for duty certification upon your return from leave, verifying whether you are able to return to work, if you have any job-related restrictions, and the duration of any restrictions. When the City has required a fitness-for-duty certification, an employee may not return to work and resume their duties until this requirement has been fulfilled.  The City will pay the employee's out-of-pocket expenses for health care provider certifications required as a condition of continuing employment. The employee must submit the receipts to Human Resources from their health care provider for such reimbursement.

Retaliation

Under no circumstances may anyone retaliate or in any way discriminate against an employee for requesting, inquiring about, or taking family medical leave or invoking any provision of FMLA, OFLA, Paid Leave Oregon, or OMFLA.

Guidelines

Eligibility

  • a. FMLA Eligibility
    Employees are entitled to FMLA leave if they have worked for the City at least twelve (12) months and have worked at least 1,250 hours during the 12-month period immediately preceding the date when the qualified family leave is requested to begin. For the purpose of counting the 1,250 hours to meet the eligibility test, only hours worked are counted.

  • b. OFLA Eligibility
    Employees are entitled to OFLA leave if they have worked for the City for 180 calendar days immediately preceding the date the qualified leave is requested to begin and have worked an average of at least twenty-five (25) hours per week during that period. For the purpose of counting the twenty-five (25) hours per week, only hours worked are counted. 

    OFLA eligible employees who terminate or are removed from the schedule but return to service within 180 days remain eligible for OFLA leave on their return.

    For the purpose of OFLA parental leave, only the 180-day criteria must be met.

    During a public health emergency, employees may become eligible for OFLA with 30 days of employment (rather than 180) if they have worked an average of 25 hours a week in the 30 days before taking leave.

  • c. OMFLA Eligibility
    Employees are entitled to OMFLA leave if they have worked for the City an average of twenty (20) hours per week and are the spouse or same-sex domestic partner of a member of the Armed Forces of the United States, the National Guard, or the military reserve forces of the United States.

  • d. Paid Leave Oregon Eligibility
    Paid Leave Oregon benefit eligibility is administered by the Oregon Employment Department. The City of Corvallis does not determine Paid Leave Oregon Eligibility. 

Qualifying Events

Provided they are eligible, employees are entitled to family or medical leave in the following circumstances:

  • a. FMLA-Qualifying Events
  1. Serious health condition of the employee, including pregnancy;
  2. Serious health condition of the employee's spouse, child, or parent;
  3. Parental leave for the birth of a child and to bond with the newborn child, or for the placement of a child for adoption or foster care and to bond with that child;
  4. Military caregiver leave—Serious injury or illness of a covered servicemember or covered veteran when the employee is the spouse, child, parent, or next of kin of the servicemember or veteran; or
  5. Qualifying exigency leave—Any qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that the employee's spouse, child, or parent is a military member on covered active duty or has been notified of an impending deployment to a foreign country.
  • b. OFLA-Qualifying Events
  1. Serious health condition of the employee;
  2. Employee's disability related to pregnancy or childbirth; including but not limited to prenatal appointments, morning sickness, bed rest, recovery from delivery (or miscarriage), and post-partum depression;
  3. Serious health condition of an employee's covered family member;
  4. Parental leave for the birth of a child and to bond with the newborn child, or for the placement of a child for adoption or foster care and to bond with that child;
  5. Non-serious health condition of a child requiring home care (Sick Child Leave) and when a child’s school or child care provider is closed in connection with a declared public health emergency; or
  6. Bereavement leave following the death of a covered family member.
  • c. OMFLA-Qualifying Events
  1. Employee's spouse or same-gender domestic partner is a member of the United States Armed Forces, National Guard, or the military reserve forces of the United States military during a period of military conflict, and the military member has been notified of an impending call or order to active duty;
  2. Employee's spouse or same-gender domestic partner is a military member during a period of military conflict, and the military member is on leave from deployment.
  • d. Paid Leave Oregon Qualifying Events
  1. Paid Leave Oregon qualifying events include specified family, medical, and safety reasons defined in ORS Chapter 657B and administered by the Oregon Employment Department. The City of Corvallis does not determine Paid Leave Oregon Eligibility.

Length of Leave

An eligible employee is entitled up to 12 weeks of protected leave in a leave year for most qualifying events. The City of Corvallis leave year is a 12-month period measured forward from the date of the employee’s first leave.

When leave qualifies for both FMLA and OFLA, the leave will be taken concurrently, and both leaves will simultaneously exhaust.  OMFLA leave may count against OFLA leave. 

There are qualifying circumstances in which the length of leave is different,  including:

 

  • a. FMLA Military Caregiver Leave:  Twenty-six (26) weeks during a single 12-month period; FMLA requires covered employers to administer military caregiver leave under a 12-month period measured forward from the first use of military caregiver leave;
  • b. FMLA-Qualifying Exigency Leave:  Qualifying exigency leave allows an employee to take up to a total of twelve (12) workweeks of FMLA leave for qualifying exigencies; Rest and Recuperation leave is up to fifteen (15) calendar days and short-notice deployment leave is up to seven (7) calendar days;
  • c. OMFLA:  Fourteen (14) calendar days per deployment; days are counted against OFLA leave but there is no limit on the number of times OMFLA leave may be taken during any given year;
  • d. OFLA Bereavement:  Two (2) weeks’ leave per death of a covered family member; leave must be completed within sixty (60) days after the date the employee receives notice of death of family member.
  • e. OFLA Pregnancy Disability:  In addition to the twelve (12 weeks) of leave available for any OFLA-qualifying event, an eligible employee may also take up to an additional twelve (12) weeks for their own pregnancy disability leave within the same leave year, for a total of twenty-four (24) weeks. The employee may use all or part of the twelve (12) weeks of leave available for any OFLA qualifying event and all or part of the additional twelve (12) weeks of pregnancy disability leave in any order. The employee need not exhaust either type of leave in order to use the other. This 24-week exception is narrow. It only applies as described herein.
  • f. OFLA Parental Leave and Sick Child Leave: If an employee takes the full twelve (12) weeks of OFLA parental leave then employee may also use up to an additional twelve (12) weeks of sick child leave for a total of twenty-four (24) weeks. This exception only applies when an employee uses the full twelve (12) weeks for parental leave, and sick child leave is the only additional type of leave the employee is permitted to take. This 24-week exception is narrow. It only applies as described herein.
  • g. OFLA Pregnancy Disability, Parental Leave, and Sick Child Leave: If an employee take twelve (12) weeks of pregnancy disability leave and twelve (12) full weeks of parental leave, then the employee may also use up to twelve (12) weeks of sick child leave for a total of thirty-six (36) weeks. This 36-week exception is narrow. It only applies as described herein.

FMLA, OFLA, and OMFLA leave may be taken as a continuous block, intermittently, or as a reduced work schedule. Intermittent leave is leave taken in separate blocks of time due to a single qualifying reason. A reduced work schedule for a single qualifying reason is a work schedule that reduces an employee's usual number of working hours per workweek or workday for a specific period of time. The total intermittent entitlement for an eligible employee is equal to twelve (12) times the employee's normal weekly hours.

Paid Leave Oregon may be taken as a continuous block or intermittently. Paid Leave Oregon may not be taken for less than a scheduled work day (e.g. 4-hours of an 8-hour workday). Eligible employees are entitled up to twelve (12) weeks of protected leave through Paid Leave Oregon. Pregnant employees may be eligible up to two (2) additional weeks. Paid Leave Oregon benefit eligibility is defined in ORS Chapter 657B and administered by the Oregon Employment Department. The City of Corvallis does not determine Paid Leave Oregon Eligibility.

Benefits

Use of Accruals

The City generally requires the use of accrued leaves prior to the use of leave without pay. While on FMLA or OFLA leave you are required to use all of your paid leave before using leave without pay unless otherwise specified in your collective bargaining agreement.  Employees must determine the order of use when more than one type of paid accrued leave is available. After all leave time has been exhausted, an employee may use unpaid leave.

The City will not require the use of accrued leave when the employee is on Paid Leave Oregon, paid disability leave, OMFLA leave, or on a compensable workers' compensation leave.

Under Paid Leave Oregon, employees may use all or a portion of paid sick time, vacation leave, or any other paid leave earned by the employee in addition to Paid Leave Oregon benefits during a period of leave taken under Paid Leave Oregon.

  1. Employees may choose to use no accrued leave. The City does encourage employees to use enough accrued leave to cover their share of health insurance premiums, if applicable. Otherwise employees must arrange for payment to the City of Corvallis.  
  2. Employee may choose to use some accrued leave hours to supplement or "top-off" Paid Leave Oregon benefits.
  3. Employees may choose to use all accrued leave hours in addition to Paid Leave Oregon benefits or may choose to use all accrued leave in lieu of Paid Leave Oregon (employee chooses not to apply for Paid Leave Oregon benefits).

Any leave used may not be returned to an employee’s banks.

An employee who uses paid leave accruals during their qualified FMLA/OFLA leave and Paid Leave Oregon will continue to accrue vacation and sick leave during that period, provided they remain in paid status for eleven (11) full shifts in each pay period month.  For an employee who works a 40-hour week, this is 88 hours.  For a 56-hour-a-week employee, they must remain in paid status for at least five (5) full 24-hour shifts in each pay period month to continue to accrue vacation and sick leave.

An employee who uses all paid leave accruals during a qualified FMLA/OFLA leave is eligible to receive sick leave donations to cover but not exceed 90 calendar days from the initial date of leave unless otherwise specified in the employee's collective bargaining agreement. An employee taking intermittent FMLA/OFLA leave is eligible to receive sick leave donations for the equivalent of 90 calendar days. The employee or their spokesperson must notify Human Resources if they wish to request sick leave donations. Human Resources will send an all-City donation request on behalf of the employee. Human Resources will also assist the employee in assessing the length of leave and determining other leave laws and benefits that may apply to their circumstances.

Health Insurance Protection

Under FMLA, OFLA, and Paid Leave Oregon the City will maintain any health care benefits the employee had prior to taking such leave for the duration of the leave, as if the employee had continued in employment continuously during the period of leave regardless of pay status. Any share of health insurance premiums an employee is required to pay must be paid by the employee throughout the leave.

Additional Sections

Attachment: Qualifying Events

Attachment: Covered Family Members

Review/Update

The Human Resources Director will update this Administrative Policy as needed and submit to City Manager for review and approval.

Last reviewed: 09-2023

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