How are my benefits handled while on an approved leave of absence?
What are the different leave types?
What is FMLA?
How do I know if I am eligible for FMLA?
What are the schedule options when on leave?
What are the paid leave categories?
How much leave time does an employee and their spouse receive if they both work at UAB?
How do I track my paid time off?
Paid or unpaid leave?
What are the details of Military Leave?
What resources are available for UAB leave of absence questions?
What forms does the employee use for Health Care Provider Certification?
How are my benefits handled while on an approved leave of absence?
See the Leaves of Absence and Long-Term Disability Benefits Quick Guide.
What are the different leave types?
The reasons for leave are:
- Employee Illness
- Family Illness
- Birth, Adoption, Foster Care
- Other Types of Leave
- Military
- Bone Marrow
- Living Donor
- Sabbatical
- Educational
- Personal Leave
What is FMLA?
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal regulation that entitles eligible faculty/staff members (employees) up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave and benefits continuation for qualifying events including:
- The employee’s own serious health condition
- A family member’s serious health condition (spouse, parent, child under the age of 18 or 18 years of age or older and incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability)
- The birth or care of a newborn child
- The adoption or foster care of a child
- Qualifying military exigencies
- Military caregiver leave (up to 26 weeks)
How do I know if I am eligible for FMLA?
In order to be eligible for FMLA leave, the employee must:
- Be employed at UAB for at least 12 months
- Have worked at least 1,250 hours during the 12-month period immediately preceding the start of the leave
What are the schedule options when on leave?
- Continuous: leave is for a consecutive number of days
- Intermittent: leave taken in separate blocks of time or working a reduced schedule
What are the paid leave categories?
Living Donor Paid Leave: UAB/UAB Medicine eligible employees may receive up to four weeks paid time off as a living organ donor or one week paid time off as a bone marrow donor. Regular part-time and Alternative Work Schedule employees will receive prorated paid time off days based on the percentage of normally scheduled work hours within a 40 hour week.
Paid Parental Leave: A period of paid leave of absence (that does not reduce an Eligible Employee’s balance of any accrued benefit time such as sick, vacation, PTO/ETO, or personal holidays) for the purpose of recovery from the birth of a child and/or to bond with a newborn or with a newly-adopted child who is under the age of 18. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Paid Parental Leave runs concurrently with an Eligible Employee’s FMLA leave. UAB/UAB Medicine will provide up to four work weeks (20 days/160 hours maximum) Paid Parental Leave to an Eligible Employee during the first six months following birth or adoption. Paid Parental Leave may be taken continuously or intermittently within the first six months following birth or adoption
How much leave time does an employee and their spouse receive if they both work at UAB?
If an employee and an employee’s spouse both work at UAB, in cases of childbirth, adoption, foster care placement or care of a child or spouse, the total amount of annual family and medical leave of absence available is 12 work weeks for each employee.
How do I track my paid time off?
Campus Monthly Paid Employees: eLAS is designed to provide the UAB community with a methodology for managing/tracking the benefit time accruals and usage for monthly paid employees. For more information:
Nonexempt Employees: The Campus Time & Attendance system is utilized by UAB Campus nonexempt employees to track time worked on a daily basis and document paid non-worked hours (benefit time).
Paid or unpaid leave?
- Some leaves are designated as “Paid” leaves — such as sick, vacation and personal holiday leave balances are earned paid leaves.
- Some leaves are designated as “Unpaid” leaves, however if appropriate approval is obtained, employee may substitute accrued sick, vacation and personal holiday time for their unpaid leaves.
- Employees must use all sick time, vacation and personal holidays prior to placement in an unpaid status. Use of accrued benefit time does not extend the length of time away from the job beyond the leave specific entitlement. Under certain circumstances, employees may utilize donated sick time while on a Family and Medical Leave of Absence.
What are the details of Military Leave?
There are two categories of Military Leave:
- Military Leave for Employee (self)
- Military Family Leave
- Qualifying Exigency: Eligible employee may take qualifying exigency leave when the employee's spouse, son, daughter or parent who is a member of the Armed forces (including Nat. Guard and Reserves) is on covered active duty or has impending call or order for active duty.
- Military Caregiver: Eligible employee who is the spouse, son, daughter, parent or next of kin of a covered service member with a serious injury or illness.
1. Military Leave for Employee (self)
Employees ordered to military duty are provided with a maximum of 21 working days with pay per calendar year is provided to all employees who are ordered to military duty. This 21 working days per year includes weekend drills as well as summer training and any other type military duty, except that noted in Alabama law, Ala. Code Section 31-12-1. Employees will only be paid for the time they would ordinarily be scheduled to work for UAB. In no case are employees paid for a period in excess of the time they are ordered to military duty.
The employee must provide a copy of the orders or other satisfactory documentation of attendance to the supervisor as soon as received. After the first 21 days of military leave per year, any additional military leave, except that noted in Alabama law, Ala. Code Section 31-12-1, will be without pay or may be charged to vacation or personal holiday time at the employee’s request.
In the case of a major military call-up, the UAB President may alter these regulations (such as "calendar" year rule), but any changes must apply to all affected employees, not just individual cases.
2a. Military Family Leave: Qualifying Exigencies
Qualifying exigencies - arise out of the fact that the employee’s spouse, sponsored adult dependent, child or child of a sponsored adult dependent, or parent is a member of the U.S. Armed Forces deployed to a foreign country, is a member of the National Guard or Reserves, on covered active duty, or has been notified of an impending call or order to active duty in support of a contingency operation in a foreign country.
Qualifying exigencies include the following:
- Short-notice deployment (7 calendar day maximum)
- Military events and related activities
- Childcare and school activities of the service member's child
- Financial and legal arrangements for the service member
- Counseling
- Rest and recuperation of the service member (15 days for each instance)
- Attending to certain post-deployment activities, including attending arrival ceremonies, reintegration briefings and events and other official ceremonies or programs sponsored by the military for a period of 90 days following the termination of the covered military member's active duty status, and addressing issues arising from the death of a covered military member.
- Parental Care to care for a military member's parent who is incapable of self-care when the care is necessitated by the member's covered active duty.
- Additional activities that the employer and employee shall agree qualify as an exigency and agree to both the timing and duration of such leave.
2b. Military Family Leave: Military Caregiver
To care for a U.S. service member or veteran with a serious injury or illness incurred or aggravated in the line of duty while on active military duty if the employee is the spouse, sponsored adult dependent, child (son or daughter) or child of a sponsored adult dependent, parent or next of kin of the service member or veteran. This type of FMLA leave is referred to "military caregiver leave.” (Leave entitlement is up to 26 work weeks in a single 12-month period.)
What resources are available for UAB leave of absence questions?
Leave benefits are dictated by Federal Laws and UAB Policies. Employees should work with their Supervisors, HR Consultants and HR Leave Team to determine what their leave benefits are in their unique situation. Contact the UAB Leaves of Absence Team at leave@uab.edu, 205-934-4408, or visit uab.edu/leaveofabsence.
What forms does the employee use for Health Care Provider Certification?
⇨ Health Care Provider Certification Form (same form is used for FMLA and non-FMLA cases)
⇨ Return to Work Form (for medical leaves)