Care of Family Member Leave

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) will be granted to employees who:

• Work for a covered employer (APS is a covered employer)
• Have worked for APS for at least 12 months
• Have worked at least 1250 hours in the 12 months before you take leave
• Work for an employer than has 50 or more employees within 75 miles of my job site

Circumstances That Qualify for FMLA Leave

• The birth of a child and to bond with the newborn within one year of birth
• The placement with the employee of a child for adoption or foster care and to bond with the newly placed child within one year of placement
• A serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the functions of his or her job, including incapacity due to pregnancy and for prenatal medical care
• To care for the employee's spouse, son, daughter, or parent who has a serious health condition, including incapacity due to pregnancy and for prenatal medical care
• Any qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that the employee's spouse, son, daughter, or parent is a military member on covered active duty or call to covered active duty status

Immediate Family Members Under FMLA

Employees can take FMLA leave due to a serious health condition of the following family members:

• Spouse: Spouse means a husband or wife as defined or recognized in the state where the individual was married, including a common law marriage or same-sex marriage.  Spouse also includes a husband or wife in a marriage that was validly entered into outside of the United States, if the marriage could have been entered into in at least one state.
• Parent: Parent means a biological, adoptive, step or foster father or mother, or any other individual who stood in loco parentis to the employee when the employee was a child.  This term does not include "parents-in-law."
• Son or daughter: Son or daughter means a biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward, or a child of a person standing in loco parentis, who is under 18 years of age or who is 18 years of age or older and incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability at the time that FMLA leave is to commence.  The onset of a disability may occur at any age for purposes of the definition of an adult "son or daughter" under FMLA.

Intermittent FMLA Leave

• Intermittent leave will be addressed according to FMLA Regulations
• Intermittent Leave will only be allowed for those employees who meet FMLA eligibility and only for family members designated as spouse, parent, son, or daughter as outlined above
• APS does not support intermittent or reduced schedule Leave for the care or bonding of a healthy child under the parental, adoption, or foster care categories

APS Care of Family Member Leave of Absence

• To be eligible for an APS extended medical leave of absence, an employee must have worked for APS a minimum of one contract year immediately prior to the leave start date
• Care of Family member leave is limited to consecutive time off (not intermittent) for care of a family member that does not meet the FMLA Regulation definition
• Refer to your respective negotiated agreement to determine the definition of family member

Substitution of Pay for the Care of a Family Member

Compensatory Time will not be applied to any leave of absence.

• APS allows up to 3 (or in some cases 5) days of sick time towards the care of a family member. 
• After the three (3) sick days are exhausted, personal leave, and annual (if applicable) time will be used. 
• Once absence balances are exhausted, the remainder of the leave will be unpaid. An employee is allowed the time to be absent, but the absences may be in an unpaid status.

Substitution means that the accrued paid leave runs concurrent with the unpaid FMLA Leave.  When paid leave is used for an FMLA-covered reason, the leave is FMLA-protected.  For the purpose of substituting accrued paid leave, the employee must have both earned the leave and be able to use that leave during the FMLA period.

The employee receives pay pursuant to the employer's applicable paid leave policy during the period of otherwise unpaid FMLA Leave.  An employee's ability to substitute accrued paid leave is determined by the terms and conditions of the employer's normal leave policy.

Extended Leaves Policy

All leaves of ten (10) consecutive work days or less must be requested through and approved by the employee’s principal or supervisor.

Extended leave of more than ten (10) consecutive days, with or without pay, must be requested through the Human Resources Leaves Office.

Employees must complete the required Leave Forms and receive the necessary approval before the leave requested may be taken.

When an employee becomes ill or is injured on the job, sick leave begins at the time of inability to continue work, to the nearest half-hour. An employee, who is already on annual leave, personal leave or leave without pay, including parental leave, may not be eligible to use sick leave benefits.

While on an approved leave, an employee:

• May not volunteer or perform any duties for the APS District
• May not utilize APS property for personal use
• Must turn in all APS equipment (keys, laptops, etc.) prior to leave start date

This page was last updated on: July 27, 2011.