Faculty/Academic Staff Medical & Parental Leave

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Hello. My name is Lizzie Goggs. The Family and Medical Leave Act, or FMLA, is a federal law that entitles eligible faculty, academic appointees and staff to take unpaid, job protected leave for up to 12 weeks in any 12 month rolling back calendar period.

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This leave can be taken for specific family and personal medical reasons,

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such as to bond with a newborn, newly placed or adopted child to care for a spouse, child, or parent with serious health conditions, or to take care of one's own serious health condition.

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The need for FMLA to care for a family member or oneself, is endorsed by a health care provider, to determine the length and frequency of leave required.

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Cornell administers FMLA leave by way of family health leave, for family qualifying events and personal medical leave, for one’s own serious medical condition.

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Family health leave and personal medical leave can be used continuously or intermittently. However, if the length of time on personal medical leave is to exceed five working days, short term disability will likely be the more appropriate leave designation.

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Here is the process for requesting and utilizing FMLA leave.

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Step one you will need to provide appropriate notice in advance of your FMLA leave. We ask for 30 days advance notice for planned and foreseeable leave, such as bonding or surgeries.

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For unexpected leaves,

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Please reach out to the MLA department and your supervisor as soon as possible.

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Step two. Once MLA receives your request for FMLA, we will let you know if you are eligible for this leave usually within five business days. To be eligible, you must have worked for Cornell for 12 months, which does not need to be consecutive and must have 1250 hours during the 12 month period immediately preceding the start of the leave.

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Step three. If you are not eligible, we will provide you with an explanation as to why. If you are eligible, MLA will provide you with an eligibility packet with your FMLA rights and responsibilities and provide you with healthcare provider certification. This certification is not needed for bonding leave, but it is needed for personal and family medical leave for a serious health condition.

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This form will need to be completed by your provider and returned to MLA within 15 days.

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Step four. Once medical information is received or we have verified the information needed for bonding leave, MLA will provide you with the determination letter for your leave and outline the frequency and duration of the leave approved.

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Step five. If your FMLA leave is approved, you can use this time outlined in the determination letter. For intermittent use,

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you will need to follow departmental call-in procedures and email MLA, your supervisor and your local HR department with the information about the time

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off that you are using. This leave is unpaid so you can use accrued health and personal time or vacation to receive pay.

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While on approved FMLA leave, those eligible are entitled to continuation of that benefit and will return to their same or equivalent job

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If ongoing FMLA leave is needed. You will need to recertify by providing an updated healthcare provider certification. This may be required annually based on the start date of the leave, or based on the need to leave timeframe outlined by the provider on the certification.

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Now let's take a look at academic medical leave.

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When a non-work related injury or illness or pregnancy related medical condition prevent faculty or academic staff from performing their duties. Cornell provides short term medical leave. This leave may extend for up to 26 weeks during any 12 month period, and is determined by a health care provider. This leave may also be taken as a partial leave if the healthcare provider recommends the reduced work effort.

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If the need for medical leave extends beyond the 26 week short term medical leave, eligible faculty and academic staff may be able to apply for long term disability benefits.

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Questions related to the leave and disability accommodation options for faculty and academic staff.

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Please reach out to me at eeg49@cornell.edu and I'll be more than happy to help.