Family and Medical Leave Act

Overview

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides up to 12 weeks of absence (480 hours) in a single calendar year to eligible employees for certain family and medical reasons. 

To be eligible, an employee must:

• have been employed by IU for at least 12 months
• have worked at least 1,250 hours preceding the first day of FMLA leave
• not have already received 12 weeks of FMLA leave in the current calendar year

Qualifying FMLA reasons include:

• a serious personal health condition
• serious health conditions for the immediate family, such as a legal spouse, dependent children under age 18, or the parents of the employee
• birth of a new child
• adoption or foster care
• military leave 

Applying

To apply for FMLA:

1. Employees need to complete FMLA Form 1 - Sections 1 & 2 (Notice of Designation, Request, and Approval) and send their completed form via email to uitshr@iu.edu or via fax at 812-855-0349. UITS HR will respond to the employee request within five business days.
2. Upon application review, if the employee is eligible for the leave requested, UITS HR will issue a conditional approval.
3. Within 15 calendar days of receiving their conditional approval, the employee must have their primary care physician or presiding health care provider complete FMLA Form #2E (Medical Certification for Employee) or FMLA Form #2F (Medical Certification for Family) and return it to UITS Human Resources via email at uitshr@iu.edu or via fax at 812-855-0349.
4. Upon receiving the completed FMLA Medical Certification form, UITS Human Resources will review the documentation and issue an official approval notice to the employee and their manager with further instructions. 

General rules

• Employees are not required to disclose the need for FMLA with their manager before approval.
• Employees are not required to inform their manager of the reason they need FMLA.
• Employees are allowed to use up to a total of 480 hours of FMLA per year.  
• Employees are responsible for tracking and keeping their ePTO calendars and Kuali time up to date and accurate. (See an example of an FMLA Attendance Tracking Sheet)
• Employees are responsible for communicating with their manager about absences and anticipated time off.
• Employees who are dealing with a lifelong condition or diagnosis are required to resubmit an updated medical certification on a yearly basis.

Full explanation

For a full explanation of this leave and its provisions, see the information provided by University Human Resources:

• FMLA policy (HR-05-20)
• full list of FMLA procedure guidelines
• full list of FMLA forms
• Q & A on FMLA

Questions?

If you have questions or need assistance with FMLA, email uitshr@iu.edu.