Unprotected Leave without Pay

HRPager

How does your company handle unprotected Leave without Pays (LWOP)? For example, I have 2 employees that have requested a leave without pay for maternity leave. They will not have been here 1 year by the time they need the leave so they do not qualify for FMLA.

If people take extended LWOP's do you end their employment at that time and then have them reapply when they can come back? Do you have any limits on how long the LWOP can be?

Our leave without pay policy states that if an employee is gone for more than 3 unpaid days they must reimburse us the cost of their health and dental insurance. So, now when we approve a leave without pay over 3 days, I now become a bill collector.

My boss would like to treat each case on an individual basis (so even if two people go on maternity leave, they could be treated differently depending on what position they are currently in). My boss told me to hire a temp to fill one 6 week LWOP. My concern is, what if we have another disability that requires LWOP, are we going to be held to the fact that we hired a temp for one so they could come back that we have to hold the job for another? I think I would prefer to treat them all the same and have anyone on an extended LWOP (such as over 2 weeks) resign and then reapply when they come back.

I'm looking for any and all the help and advice I can get!

nohr4u1yr

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 12-21-04 AT 02:50PM (CST)[/font][br][br]I smell a lot of law suits in your future with that wishy-washy policy if you save a job for one person and not another. You can name it the "favoritism policy"

nietra

Our policy is:

Some employees may not be eligible for medical leave or family leave as defined by FMLA. When such instances occur, approval for any amount of medical/family leave exceeding four weeks must be requested in writing and approved by the supervisor and the administrative team. Special circumstances, amount of time requisted, and the ease of replacing the employee will all be taken into account when deciding on the request.

Of course we are also in Iowa so any leave relating to the birth of a child or disability related to pregnancy we are required to give any pregnant employee 8 weeks.

HRinFL

We have a Time of Without Leave (TOWL) Policy at our company that allows an associate thirty days of time off for approved reasons (health concerns, etc). After two weeks, we send a letter to the ee and the manager reminding them that the ee has not worked and will be administratively separated if they do not return at the end of the thirty days. If they return, they are still an active ee, if they do not, they are separated through our Personnel department and the manager receives the proper notification.

pork1

HRPAGER: We have a personal leave of absence which may be requested for any reason usually in connection with application for FMLA which fails to qualify. We allow, in concert with our medical plan, for anyone to take up to 6 weeks for any purpose, medical being one. The employee is required to pay six weeks of medical plan employee premiums up front. In our response to the FMLA application we write that they did not qualify, however, one may take up to six weeks Medical Leave of Absence, which is supported by a physicians certrification. We stipulate the exact day that they must be returned to active service or the date following will be the date in which we designate as "a seperation of our employer/employee relationship and that COBRA documents will be "in the mail". We make it happen in accordance with our letter of response to the FMLA application. This process has allowed us to make certain that all absences that might otherwise qualify for FMLA are addressed up front and if possible before the leave starts.

Good luck, hope this helps!

PORK

Crout

You need to establish a policy and enforce it equitably. After all applicable FMLA is exhausted, our regular employees have the option of requesting an additional one-month personal leave, which we state in the policy may or may not be granted as economic circumstances allow. After that, we tell the EE that he/she must resign and is free to re-apply at a later date.

jimbomt

Our policy allows a 90 day LWOP after exhausting sick and vacation time. (FMLA does not apply to us) During any LWOP the employee is required to pay their own health insurance via COBRA.