The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires that eligible employees be granted up to 12 weeks per year of unpaid, job protected leave for certain family and medical reasons. The State of Louisiana uses the "rolling year" method to determine the year.
Employees who have worked at least one (1) year and have worked at least 1,250 hours during the preceding 12 month period are eligible for FMLA. Employees will be returned to the same or equivalent positions upon return from FMLA.
FMLA leave will consist of, and run concurrently with, appropriate accrued paid leave and unpaid leave. If leave is requested for an employee's own serious health condition,the employee must first use all of his her accrued paid sick and annual leave. If leave is requested for reasons other than one's own health condition, the employee must first use all of his/her accrued annual leave. The remainder of the leave period will consist of unpaid leave. All leave, whether paid annual, paid sick, or unpaid, will also be recorded as FMLA.
In all cases, an employee requesting FMLA must complete an "Application for Leave" form indicating that the intended leave is FMLA. Additionally, the employee is required to submit a completed "Certification of Physician or Practitioner" form.
An employee intending to take FMLA because of an expected or planned event, must submit an application for leave 30 days in advance of the leave, or as soon as the necessity for the leave arises.
When it is impossible, due to medical necessity, to provide advance notice, the leave will be granted conditionally based upon the information provided by the employee. Final approval or denial will be given upon receipt of the "Certification of Physician or Practitioner" form.
The law requires that the employer record leave as FMLA (even when the employee has not requested FMLA) when the employer has information that the absence is due to a qualifying event under FMLA.
On January 28, 2008, President Bush signed into public law, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The NDAA amends the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) to provide eligible employees two new leave rights related to military service:
Any additional information on the FMLA policy can be obtained from the Labor Relations Section of Human Resources, (504) 568-3916. The Family Medical Leave Act may be accessed through the LSUHSC-NO website (LSUHSC-NO Policies-CM-50).