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Home > About USPS & News > Forms & Publications > Postal Periodicals and Publications > Manuals > Employee and Labor Relations Manual - Issue 18 > 5 Employee Benefits > 510 Leave > 515 Absence for Family Care or Illness of Employee
515 Absence for Family Care or Illness of Employee
Section 515 provides policies to comply with the Family and Medical Leave
Act of 1993 (FMLA). Nothing in this section is intended to limit employees'
rights or benefits available under other current policies (see 511, 512, 513,
514) or collective bargaining agreements. Likewise, nothing increases the
amount of paid leave beyond what is provided for under current leave policies
or in any collective bargaining agreement. The conditions for authorizing the
use of annual leave, sick leave, or LWOP are modified only to the extent
described in this section.
515.2 Definitions
The following definitions apply for the purposes of 515:
a. Son or daughter - biological, adopted, or foster child, stepchild, legal
ward, or child who stands in the position of a son or daughter to the
employee, who is under 18 years of age or who is 18 or older and
incapable of self-care because of mental or physical disability.
b. Parent - biological parent or individual who stood in that position to the
employee when the employee was a child.
c. Spouse - husband or wife.
d. Serious health condition - illness, injury, impairment, or physical or
mental condition that involves any of the following:
(1) Hospital care - inpatient care (i.e., an overnight stay) in a
hospital or residential medical care facility, including any period of
incapacity or subsequent treatment in connection with or
subsequent to such inpatient care.
(2) Absence plus treatment - a period of incapacity of more than 3
consecutive calendar days (including any subsequent treatment
or period of incapacity relating to the same condition) that also
involves either one of the following:
(a) Treatment two or more times by a health care provider.
(b) Treatment by a health care provider on at least one
occasion that results in a regimen of continuing treatment
under the supervision of the health care provider.
(3) Pregnancy - any period of incapacity due to pregnancy or for
prenatal care.
(4) Chronic condition requiring treatments - a chronic condition that
meets all of the three following conditions:
(a) Requires periodic visits for treatment by a health care
provider or by a nurse or physician's assistant under direct
supervision of a health care provider.
(b) Continues over an extended period of time (including
recurring episodes of a single underlying condition).
(c) May cause episodic, rather than a continuing period of,
incapacity. Examples of such conditions include diabetes,
asthma, and epilepsy.
(5) Permanent or long-term condition 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 health care
provider. Examples of such conditions include Alzheimer's, a
severe stroke, and the terminal stages of a disease.
(6) Condition requiring multiple treatments (nonchronic condition) -
any period of absence to receive multiple treatments (including any
period of recovery therefrom) by a health care provider or by a
provider of health care services under orders of, or on referral by, a
health care provider, either for restorative surgery after an accident
or other injury, or for a condition that would likely result in a period
of incapacity of more than 3 consecutive calendar days in the
absence of medical intervention or treatment. Examples of such
conditions include cancer (which may require chemotherapy,
radiation, etc.), severe arthritis (which may require physical
therapy), and kidney disease (which may require dialysis).
Note: Cosmetic treatments (such as most treatments for orthodontia or
acne) are not "serious health conditions" unless complications occur.
Restorative dental surgery after an accident or removal of cancerous
growths is a serious health condition provided all the other conditions
are met. Allergies, mental illness resulting from stress, and treatments
for substance abuse are protected only if all the conditions are met.
Routine preventative physical examinations are excluded. Also
excluded as a regimen of continuing treatments are treatments that
involve only over-the-counter medicine or activities such as bed rest
that can be initiated without a visit to a health care provider.
e. Health care provider - doctor of medicine or osteopathy; Christian
Science practitioner listed with the First Church of Christ, Scientist, in
Boston, MA; physician; or other attending practitioner who is performing
within the scope of his or her practice.
515.3 Eligibility
For an absence to be covered by the FMLA, the employee must have been
employed by the Postal Service for an accumulated total of 12 months and
must have worked a minimum of 1,250 hours during the 12-month period
before the date leave begins.
515.4 Leave Requirements
Eligible employees must be allowed an total of up to 12 workweeks of leave
within a Postal Service leave year for one or more of the following:
a. Because of the birth of a son or daughter of the employee and in order
to care for such son or daughter. Entitlement to be absent for this
condition expires 1 year after the birth.
b. Because of the placement of a son or daughter with the employee for
adoption or foster care. Entitlement to be absent for this condition
expires 1 year after the placement.
c. In order to care for the spouse, son, daughter, or parent of the
employee if the spouse, son, daughter, or parent has a serious health
condition.
d. Because of a serious health condition that makes the employee unable
to perform the functions of the employee's position.
Absences that qualify as FMLA leave may be charged as annual leave, sick
leave, continuation of pay, or leave without pay, or a combination of these.
Leave is charged consistent with current leave policies and applicable
collective bargaining agreements.
515.43 Authorized Hours
Eligible employees are entitled to 12 workweeks per leave year of
FMLA-protected absences. This amount is twelve times the hours normally,
or regularly, scheduled in the employee's workweek. Occasional or sporadic
overtime hours are excluded. Thus:
a. Full-time employees who normally work 40 hours per week are entitled
to up to 480 hours of FMLA-covered absences within a leave year.
b. Part-time employees who have regular weekly schedules are entitled to
12 times the number of hours normally scheduled in their workweek.
For example, a part-time employee with a normal schedule of 30 hours
a week is entitled to 360 hours (12 weeks times 30 hours).
c. Part-time employees who do not have normal weekly schedules are
entitled to the total number of hours worked in the previous 12 weeks,
not including occasional or sporadic overtime hours.
Absences in addition to the 12 workweeks of FMLA leave may be granted in
accordance with other leave policies or collective bargaining agreements
(see 511, 512, 513, 514).
515.5 Documentation
An employee must provide a supervisor a PS Form 3971 together with
documentation supporting the request, at least 30 days before the absence if
the need for the leave is foreseeable. If 30 days notice is not practicable, the
employee must give notice as soon as practicable. Ordinarily the employee
should give at least verbal notification within 1 or 2 business days of the time
the need for leave becomes known. A copy of the completed PS Form 3971
is returned to the employee along with a copy of Publication 71, which details
the specific expectations and obligations and the consequences of a failure to
meet these obligations.
Additional documentation may be requested of the employee, and this must
be provided within 15 days or as soon as practicable considering the
particular facts and circumstances.
During an absence, the employee must keep his or her supervisor informed
of intentions to return to work and of status changes that could affect his or
her ability to return to work. Failure to provide documentation can result in the
denial of FMLA protection.
515.52 Particular Circumstances
515.521 New Son or Daughter
An employee requesting FMLA-covered time off because of the birth of the
employee's son or daughter and to care for the son or daughter, or because
of the placement of a son or daughter with the employee for adoption or
foster care, may be required to substantiate the relationship and provide the
birth or placement date.
515.522 Care of Others for Medical Reasons
An employee requesting FMLA-covered time off because the employee is
needed to care for a spouse, parent, son, or daughter who has a serious
health condition may be required to:
a. Substantiate the relationship.
b. Provide documentation from the health care provider - using either
Form WH-380, Certification of Health Care Provider, or equivalent
documentation - stating the date the serious health condition began,
probable duration of the illness, appropriate medical facts, nature of the
need to care for, and when the employee will be needed to provide
such care or psychological support.
Note: The medical certification provision that an employee is "needed
to care for" a family member encompasses both physical and
psychological care. It includes situations where, for example, because
of a serious health condition, the family member is unable to care for
his or her own basic medical, hygienic, or nutritional needs or safety, or
is unable to transport him- or herself to the doctor, etc. The term also
includes providing psychological comfort and reassurance that would
be beneficial to a child, spouse, or parent with a serious health
condition who is receiving inpatient or home care.
515.523 Employee Incapacitation
An employee requesting FMLA-covered time off because of his or her own
incapacitation must satisfy the documentation requirements for sick leave in
513.31 through 513.38 in order to receive paid leave during the absence. If
medical opinions are required in addition to initial documentation, they are
administered as described in 515.53.
515.524 Return to Work After Employee Incapacitation
To return to work from an FMLA-covered absence because of his or her own
incapacitation, an employee must provide certification from his or her health
care provider that the employee is able to perform the essential functions of
his or her positions with or without limitations. Limitations described are
accommodated when practical. In addition, a bargaining unit employee must
comply with collective bargaining agreements, which include Postal Service
policies in 865 (summarized in section VI of Publication 71), 513.37, and
other handbooks and manuals.
515.53 Additional Medical Opinions
A second medical opinion by a health care provider who is designated and
paid for by the Postal Service may be required. A health care provider
selected for the second opinion may not be employed by the Postal Service
on a regular basis. In case of a difference between the original and second
opinion, a third opinion by a health care provider may be required. The third
health care provider is jointly designated or approved by management and
the employee, and the third opinion is final. The Postal Service pays the
health care provider for the third opinion. Recertifications of a medical
condition, for which the employee bears the cost, may also be required. Such
medical opinions are obtained off the clock.
515.6 Intermittent Leave or Reduced Schedule
515.61 New Son or Daughter
Absences requested because of the birth and subsequent care of the
employee's newborn son or daughter or because of the placement of a son
or daughter with the employee for adoption or foster care may be taken on an
intermittent basis or reduced work schedule only if the request for such
intermittent leave or schedule modification is approved by the supervisor.
Eligibility for this leave expires 1 year after the birth or placement. Approval is
based on employee need, Postal Service need, and costs to the Postal
Service.
515.62 Care of Others for Medical Reasons or Employee Incapacitation
Absences requested to care for a spouse, son, daughter, or parent with a
serious health condition or due to the employee's own health condition may
be taken on an intermittent basis or by establishing a reduced work schedule
when medically necessary.
515.63 Temporary Change in Duty Assignment
If an employee requests intermittent leave or a reduced work schedule, the
Postal Service may assign the employee, with equivalent pay and benefits,
temporarily to the duties of another position consistent with applicable
collective bargaining agreements and regulations if such an assignment
better accommodates the recurring periods of absence.
515.64 Fair Labor Standards Act Status
An employee exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) normally
may not take leave in less than 1-day increments. However, leave taken for
an FMLA-covered reason on an intermittent basis or by temporarily
establishing a reduced work schedule can be taken in less than 1-day
increments without affecting the employee's FLSA-exempt status.
515.7 Return to Position
Employees whose absence is covered by the FMLA are normally entitled to
return to the positions they held when the absence began, or to equivalent
positions with equivalent pay, benefits, working conditions, and other terms of
employment if they are able to perform the essential functions of the
positions. Returning employees are not entitled to any right, benefit, or
position to which they would not have been entitled had they not been
absent, or to intangible, unmeasurable aspects of the job such as the
perceived loss of potential for future promotional opportunities. If an
employee was hired for a specific term or only to perform work on a discrete
project, then there is no further reinstatement obligation under this section if
the employment term or project is over and the employment would not have
otherwise continued.
All benefits accrue to employees during an FMLA absence pursuant to the
applicable provision of the ELM.
515.9 Family Leave Poster
All postal facilities, including stations and branches, are required to
conspicuously display WH Publication 1420, Your Rights Under the Family
and Medical Leave Act of 1993. It must be posted, and remain posted, on
bulletin boards where it can be seen readily by employees and applicants for
employment.
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