Family Medical Leave Act

Under FMLA, you can take up to 12 workweeks of leave in a 12-month period for your own or a covered family member's serious health condition. This means an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves one of the following:

• Inpatient care: an overnight stay in a hospital, hospice or residential medical care facility. FMLA leave for a serious health condition requiring inpatient care includes any period of incapacity or subsequent treatment in connection with such care.
• Continuing treatment: different kinds of ongoing care from a health care provider.

Continuing Treatment for Three or More Days of Incapacity

Incapacity for more than three consecutive calendar days, including the first visit to the health care providers within seven days of the first day of incapacity.

The condition must also involve one of the following:

• Two or more visits to a health care provider within 30 days of the first day of incapacity (unless extenuating circumstances)
• Visit to a health care provider resulting in a continuing treatment plan

Continuing Treatment for Long-term Conditions

Any period of incapacity due to:

• Pregnancy or for prenatal care
• Permanent or long-term conditions
• Chronic conditions (including those causing episodic rather than continuing incapacity) that:
  • Require at least two health care provider visits per year
  • Continue over an extended period

Continuing Treatment for Multiple Visits

Any period of absence to receive multiple treatments for:

• Restorative surgery
• Conditions that might result in more than three consecutive calendar days of incapacity if not treated

Under FMLA, you can take up to 12 workweeks of leave in a 12-month period for a qualifying exigency, or urgent situation, related to the deployment of your parent, child or spouse. A certification form is required. The leave does not apply to enlistments.

Examples of qualifying exigencies include:

• Short-notice deployment, limited to seven calendar days from notice
• Military events and related activities
• Child care and school activities
• Financial and legal arrangements
• Counseling
• Rest and recuperation (limited to five days of FMLA leave per year)
• Post-deployment activities (up to 90 days from end of deployment)
• Additional activities, as agreed to by employer and employee

Under FMLA, you can take up to 26 workweeks of leave in a single 12-month period to care for a covered military member with a serious injury or illness. Please note the following:

• The single 12-month period is the regular calendar year.
• You can take the leave for multiple family members and for the same family member's subsequent injuries/illnesses, but only once per injury or illness.
• The leave applies to caring for children of any age, including those over the age of 18.

You must:

• Provide at least 30 days of notice, if the leave is foreseeable. If not foreseeable, provide notice as soon as practical.
• Return the completed medical certification within 15 calendar days of the form being provided to you.
• Continue to follow your department’s call-in procedures.
• Once your request for leave has been approved, you must clearly designate any absences as FMLA at the time you are requesting leave or calling in absent.
• If your leave is for scheduled absences, you must provide the dates and times of your scheduled absences to your department (and Human Resource Services, if requested). You should also make reasonable efforts to schedule absences to not disrupt university operations.
• Report periodically on your status and intent to return to work.
• Report your hours properly. Learn how hourly employees report FMLA hours (XLS) and how salaried employees report FMLA hours (XLS).
• Notify Human Resource Services as soon as you're cleared to return to work or if leave is no longer required.
• Provide notification and documentation of any return-to-work restrictions to Human Resource Services. Human Resource Services and your department must review and approve any restrictions before you return.

The university requires that your leave request due to your serious health condition or that of a covered family member be supported by a certification from a health care provider.  Once approved, FMLA can only be used for the medical condition identified on the medical certification form. You must supply this documentation within 15 calendar days of the request being provided to you. If you make good faith efforts to get the form completed, but additional time is needed to obtain the completed medical certification, it is your responsibility to notify Human Resource Services and request an extension.

If additional information is needed from your medical provider, it will be your responsibility to provide the information within the designated time period. 

Human Resource Services may contact your health care provider only for purposes of confirming authentication of the certification and/or for clarification of the information provided on the certification.

Human Resource Services is dedicated to maintaining the confidentiality of your health and personal information. In processing a leave of absence request, a file will be created for the purposes of this process and will be maintained separate from our permanent personnel file located in Human Resource Services. Your supervisor will be notified once you apply for leave. However, the reason for your leave will not be disclosed to them.

All communication from Human Resource Services regarding your leave of absence will be provided through your Northern Illinois University email account (example@niu.edu). It is your responsibility to access the information in this way. If you need assistance with your email access and/or email notifications, please contact the DoIT Service Desk at ServiceDesk@niu.edu or 815-753-8100.

While on approved medical leave, you must report your absences and designate them as FMLA through the time reporting process. Learn how hourly employees report FMLA hours (XLS) and how salaried employees report FMLA hours (XLS).

If you are on continuous medical leave and unable to complete your hourly timesheet or salaried benefit usage form, your supervisor will complete it for you.

If you are a salaried employee and required to complete time reporting for the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act (SOEEA), you will not be expected to do so while on approved leave.

While job-protected leave time under FMLA is technically unpaid leave, you have a right under FMLA to request that your benefit time (sick, vacation, compensatory time, State of Illinois paid leave, etc.) be used to pay you while you are away from work. When you use paid leave benefits for an FMLA-covered absence, your leave time is still protected by the FMLA.

When you formally apply for FMLA, you will designate what benefits you want to use and in what order to continue to be paid while you are on leave. You are able to view your current benefit balances (Leave Balances) on your pay advice. To view your paycheck online, follow the directions on payroll help and instructions.

Your health insurance and other benefits will be maintained during FMLA leave, but you remain responsible for premium contributions. As long as you are in pay status, these premiums will be deducted from your paycheck. If you take unpaid leave, you will be billed for your insurance premiums (at the same rate that you paid while actively working) by the State of Illinois. If you fail to pay your bill, your insurance coverage will be terminated.

When you return from FMLA leave, you will be restored to your original or an equivalent position with equivalent pay, benefits and other terms of employment.

If you're a faculty member, please review the information regarding extension of the tenure probationary period for bargaining unit members, which can be found in Article 29.9 of the UFA bargaining agreement (PDF).