Time Off & Medical Leave

How many days of sick leave are available to employees?

• 10 month employees earn 10 sick leave days each year of employment. Eleven month employees earn 11 days per year and twelve month employees earn 12 days per year.
• This full complement of sick days is available for use at the beginning of the work year.
• Unused sick days are carried over to the following school year.
• There is no limit to the number of sick leave days that may be accrued.
• Sick leave may be used in 1 hour, half day, or full day increments.

Under what circumstances can sick leave be used?

• Sick days may be used for your own personal illness or appointments with a health care provider.
• Sick days may be used to provide care for a family member who is ill and not able to care for themselves.  In this case, certification of medical necessity may be required.
• Family members include a parent, child, sibling or partner. Sick leave may also be used to provide care to any member of the immediate household.

Is documentation always required to authenticate sick leave?

• Not on every occasion. Teachers absent 4 or more consecutive days may be asked to submit a doctor’s note.  This allows the Benefits Office to determine if the leave qualifies for Family Medical Leave.
• There are also occasions where the superintendent may request documentation of sick leave from a health care provider.  This may happen in cases where the reason for or the frequency of an absence is in question.

What happens if I exhaust all the sick leave in my account due to personal and/or family illness and I still have a legitimate need for additional leave?

• If you have been employed with FCPS for 5 years or more, you may request that the Board consider granting 10 additional sick days.  These additional days are provided on an as needed basis to support your need for sick leave for your own illness or as you support a family member.  This request may be made once every 5 years.
• Regarding your own personal illness, additional support to cover your absence due to a prolonged, catastrophic, incapacitating personal illness is available if you are a member of the FCTA, FASSE, or FCASA Sick Leave Bank. 
• The Family Crisis Leave Exchange program is available to employees who have exhausted their sick, personal and annual leave and need additional leave to care for a member of their immediate family who is experiencing a prolonged, catastrophic incapacitating personal illness.

If I “dip forward” and access the leave I will earn during the school year and then go on an unpaid leave or actually resign from my position do I have to “pay back” the leave I used but didn’t actually earn? 

• Yes.  Unearned leave does have to be paid back to the school system.  This pay back could be in the form of a deduction on your last paycheck or some other repayment program authorized by the Finance Department.

Where in the Negotiated Agreement can I find more information about sick leave benefits for teachers?

• Article XXIV  Sick Leave
• Article XXV  Sick Leave Bank
• Article XXVI FCPS-FCTA Family Crisis Leave Exchange

Where in the Negotiated Agreement can I find more information about sick leave benefits for support employees?

• Article VI Leave Provisions 6.2a Sick Leave
• Article VI Leave Provisions 6.2b Sick Leave Bank
• Article VI Leave Provisions 6.2a Sick leave
• Article VI Leave Provisions 6.6 Family Crisis Leave Exchange

Where in the Negotiated Agreement can I find more information about sick leave benefits for A&S and AMT employees?

• ARTICLE VIII – LEAVE BENEFITS Section 8.2 – Sick Leave
• ARTICLE VIII – LEAVE BENEFITS Section 8.10 – Family Crisis Leave Exchange (FCLE)BOE Policy 319
• ADMINISTRATIVE, MANAGEMENT AND TECHNICAL (AMT) GROUP Benefits 319.2

Source: Human Resources, October 2017

FCPS provides certain military family leave entitlements. Eligible employees may take FMLA leave for specified reasons related to certain military deployments of their family members.  Also see the FCPS Military FMLA Policy 300-47 for details.

FCPS allows employees time off to address medical issues of your own or those of their immediate family, in compliance with the Family Medical Leave Act. See this poster for information about Employee Rights Under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

If you are absent for more than 3 days, you will need to have the Certification of Healthcare Provider form completed by the treating physician.  You may qualify for FMLA under federal guidelines, which provides you certain benefits during your absence.  

You may also qualify for FMLA in order to care for a member of your immediate family.  Medical documentation is also required for this purpose.

FMLA is a Federal law regarding job protection, but does not guarantee you a paycheck.  In order to get paid during this period, you will use your available leave.

During the approved period under FMLA, your medical insurance remains at an active rate.

Medical documentation is sent to the Benefits Office. This documentation will be used to determine if you qualify for FMLA.  You will need to continue to provide ongoing updates as your time off continues. 

Please review this checklist to help as you move through your medical leave.

For benefited employees who do not qualify for FMLA, we offer Personal Disability (see section below). This program works similarly to FMLA, and allows you to be out of work for your own illness.

Please review the Return to Work information found in the Time Off section below.

You may find more detailed information about FMLA under Regulation 300-42.

For benefited employees who do not qualify for FMLA, we offer Personal Disability. This program works similarly to FMLA, and allows you to be out of work for your own illness.  See the Negotiated Agreement for details.

What do I do?

You will need to submit a Certification of Health Care Provider Form to determine if you qualify for FMLA.  This same form will detail your need to be out of work for your health issue.  During this time off, you will use your available leave in order to be paid.  Your medical insurance rates will remain at the active rate. 

For more details, please review your Negotiated Agreement.

Please review the Returning from Medical Leave section below.

FCPS provides for time off when an employee has a baby, adoption, or a foster placement, in compliance with the FMLA Law and FCPS Regulation 300-42.  If you do not qualify for FMLA, you may be eligible for Personal Disability Leave as detailed in the Negotiated agreement.

To Qualify

In order to qualify for FMLA, you must be employed with FCPS for more than 1 year, and have worked 0.5 or greater of your position in the year preceeding the leave.  For those who do not qualify for FMLA, FCPS offers Personal Disability leave for the time period when the employee is medically unable to work.

What to Do

When preparing for this absence, please provide the appropriate documentation:

• Projected Leave Form which shares your intent for leave duration and provides employee information to assist in determining if you qualify for FMLA
• Submit Certification of Health Care Provider for the Employee or Family Member if you will be medically incapacitated or if your spouse will be medically incapacitated and you will provide care. If you are requesting leave due to the birth, adoption or foster placement of a child, please provide proof of birth, adoption or placement.
• Be certain to share your plans with your Administrator and complete proper leave reporting procedures such as completing a Leave Request Form.
• Review this checklist for informational and action items during your time off. If you have questions regarding any of the items listed, contact Sarah Minnick at Sarah.Minnick@fcps.org.

Getting Paid

FMLA is a federal law that allows you to take leave, paid or unpaid, for the birth or adoption of a child. In addition to leave for pregnancy, a parent is eligible for up to 12 weeks of leave that includes time for bonding with your child. The federal FMLA regulation allows for both parents to share the 12 weeks of bonding leave if they work for the same company, however, FCPS allows both parents to take a total of 12 weeks of leave during the first 12 months of the child’s life or placement in your home in cases of adoption. In order to be paid during this time, you will use your available sick, personal, and vacation leave. In addition, if you and your spouse both work for FCPS, one parent may donate sick leave to the other parent to use during the 12 weeks of pregnancy/bonding leave. Please review the language in the FCTA negotiated agreement: Article XXIV, H, 5 and 6. You must submit the Bonding Leave Donation Form to donate leave to your spouse. You may also consult with your affiliated Union to see if there are more pay options for you. Contact your Association (FCTA 301-662-9077, FASSE 301-620-9217, FCASA) for information.

Check your available sick, personal, and vacation leave in employee Self Service.

Returning to Work

For those who give birth to the child, you will need to provide the doctor’s medical release after the 6-8 week recovery period. A sample Return to Work Evaluation is available but you may use another source as a return to work note.  This note should be submitted to the Benefits Office.

Insurance Enrollment/Beneficiary Changes

The birth or adoption of your child is considered a Qualifying Event, making you eligible for benefit changes.  You have 30 days from the date of this event to make changes.  Please review the information under Life Events tab. When submitting an enrollment form, please follow up (don’t delay submitting the enrollment form) with a copy of the birth certificate or completion of an attestation form.  This information can be sent to Evelyn Davis at Evelyn.Davis@fcps.org.

Special Considerations

Working until delivery

The employee is expected to work until delivery unless medically unable, at which time a physician would need to complete a separate Certification of Health Care Provider form.  This form should indicate the medical reason for an absence prior to delivery. 

Calculating the FMLA period

To calculate the FMLA period, a week is counted as a week of FMLA leave regardless of the work schedule. The only exception is if the school system temporarily closes for a solid week, the days the school system's activities have ceased do not count against the employee's FMLA leave entitlement. You will receive the dates of approved FMLA from the Benefits office. 

Additional health benefits for you

Breast pumps will be covered under the Durable Medical Equipment (DME) benefit for FCPS active employees.  If you use one of the in-network vendors, it will be paid at 100%.  If using an out of network vendor, it will be paid at 80% of eligible expenses after the $200 deductible.  National Ancillary DME breast pump providers will ship the breast pump directly to the member.  Members can order breast pumps no more than 30 days in advance of delivery.  Please refer to www.carefirst.com/frederick or call 1-866-386-2043 or contact a supplier on this list. Please be advised that network providers are subject to change.

FirstHelp - free 24-hour nurse advise line

Call 800-535-9700 anytime to speak with a registered nurse. Nurses can provide you with medical advice and recommend the most appropriate care.

When your doctor has determined you are medically able to return to work, you will need to provide medical documentation with the date of return, as well as any recommended work restrictions.  To plan for your return, please provide 24 hours’ notice of your return to work date. It is the employee’s responsibility to provide a return to work note, prior to returning to your position.

A sample Return to Work Evaluation is available but you may use another source as a return to work note. FCPS makes every effort to accommodate you in returning to work and recognizing that if restrictions are included, it may take additional time to determine if FCPS can provide the accommodations in a reasonable manner.  It is best to have timely communication with your supervisor or a benefits team member.