Iowa Civil Rights Commission Disclaimer

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Iowa Civil Rights CommissionDisclaimer

• The information contained in this presentation is
  a brief overview and should not be construed as
  legal advice or exhaustive coverage of the topic.

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FMLAANDPREGNANCY LEAVE
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CHAPTER 216 OF THE IOWA CODE

• Prohibits discrimination of a person temporarily
  disabled by pregnancy
• Where other leave is not available, an employer
  shall not refuse to grant a pregnant employee an
  unpaid leave of absence for up to 8 weeks, as
  required by doctors orders.

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UNDER CHAPTER 216 OF THE IOWA CODE

• Pregnancy is regarded as a temporary disability.
• For the sake of comparison, an investigator would
  compare how other employees with temporary
  disabilities are treated under an employers
  policies
• However, employers must attempt to reasonably
  accommodate a pregnant employee.

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FMLAFAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT 1993

• Requires employers with 50 or more employees
  within a 75-mile radius to provide eligible
  employees with unpaid family and medical leaves
  of absence of up to 12 weeks during a 12 month
  period.

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WHICH EMPLOYERS ARE COVERED ?

• The FMLA covers employers who have employed
  50 or more employees for each working day during
  each 20 or more calendar workweeks (not
  necessarily consecutive workweeks) in the current
  or preceding calendar year.

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WHO IS ELIGIBLEFOR FMLA LEAVE ?

• Must be employed by a covered employer
• Must have been employed for at least 12 months
  with the covered employer as of the date the
  leave commences
• Must have been employed for at least 1,250 hours
  of service for that employer during the previous
  12-month period immediately preceding
  commencement of the leave
• Work at a site with at least 50 employees or a
  site where the employer has at least 50 employees
  within a 75-mile radius.

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TYPES OF LEAVE AVAILABLE UNDER FMLA

• FAMILY LEAVE
• MEDICAL LEAVE

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FAMILY LEAVE

• An eligible employee, male or female, may
• take family leave because of
• 1. The birth of a child/children
• 2. The adoption of a child/children
• 3. If the employee will have a
  foster
• child/children placed in
  his/her care
• 4. To take care of a spouse,
  child/children
• or parent with a serious
  health condition

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MEDICAL LEAVE

• An eligible employee may take medical leave
• When an employee is unable to
  perform
• his or her job because of the
• employees own serious health
• condition ( includes pregnancy,
• miscarriages or complications or
• illnesses related to pregnancy )

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3 WAYS FMLA LEAVE MAY BE TAKEN

• A leave of up to 12 consecutive weeks
• Intermittent leave taken in separate blocks of
  time due to a single injury or illness
• A reduced work leave schedule whereby the usual
  hours per workweek or per workday of the employee
  are reduced

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PAID OR UNPAID LEAVE?

• The FMLA does not require a covered
  employer to provide any paid leave. Under certain
  circumstances, the FMLA permits the employee to
  choose or the employer to require substitution of
  paid leave, which has been accrued pursuant to
  the employers policies, for any part of the
  leave, so that the total paid and unpaid leave
  equals 12 weeks.

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SUBSTITUTION FOR BIRTH, ADOPTION OR FOSTER CARE

• If an employee is requesting leave due to
  birth, adoption, or foster care placement, the
  employer may require, or the employee may
  request, use of
• accrued vacation
  leave
• accrued personal
  leave

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REQUIREMENTS FOR REQUESTING LEAVE

• An employee must provide the employer at
  least 30 days advance notice before FMLA leave
  is to begin if the need is foreseeable. If
  circumstances require that the leave begin in
  less than 30 days, notice must be provided as
  soon as practicable.
• 1 to 2 business days of when the need for
  leave becomes known to the employee

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JOB BENEFITS AND PROTECTION

• For the duration of FMLA leave, the employer
  must maintain the employees health coverage
  under the existing premium contribution
  arrangement through any group health plan.

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JOB RESTORATION

• An employee returning from FMLA leave is
  entitled to be restored to either
• 1. The same position the
  employee
• held before the leave
• 2. An equivalent position with
• equivalent benefits, pay
  and other
• terms and conditions of
• employment

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Iowa Civil Rights Commission

• Grimes Building, 400 E. 14th Street
• Des Moines, Iowa 50319
• 515-281-4121
• 800-457-4416 (toll free)
• fax [phone]
• website www.state.ia.us/government/crc