Cleveland Institute of Art provides up to 11 weeks of paid family and medical leave in a 12-month period to eligible employees as defined below.
Eligibility
To be eligible for paid Family and Medical leave (PFML), an employee must:
- Be a regular full-time employee with at least one full year of service at CIA and have worked at least 1,250 hours in the 12 months prior to the commencement of the leave.
- Require leave from work for a reason covered by the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act, as explained below.
Waiting period
There is a 7-day waiting period before PMFL eligibility begins. Employees must use any accrued PTO to cover this period, employees without PTO will take this time as unpaid. While on paid family leave, the accrual of sick and vacation time will cease.
Reasons for Leave
An eligible employee can take PFML for any of the following reasons:
- Birth and care of the newborn child of the employee
- Placement with the employee of a child through adoption or foster care
- To care for an immediate family member (spouse, child or parent) with a “serious health condition.”
*serious health condition as defined in section 5.5 of this employee handbook
Use of PFML
PFML will be subject to the following general requirements:
- Employees are entitled to take up to 11 weeks of leave in a single 12-month period based on a doctor’s certification for the reasons specified above. For the purposes of this policy, CIA will calculate the amount of PFML available to an employee using a “rolling” 12-month period. Available leave is determined by subtracting the number of weeks of PFML taken during this 12-month “look back” period from the 12-week total allowed. PMFL is only for continuous leave, intermittent conditions do not qualify.
- Employees will be eligible for up to 11 weeks of leave after a 7-day waiting period. During the waiting period the employee will be required to use paid time off to cover their time.
- Any PFML taken for the birth/adoption/foster care placement of a child must be completed within one year after the date of birth or placement.
- Entitlement for PFML will run concurrently with FMLA leave entitlement guidelines in section 5.5
- Full-time employees will be compensated at the employee’s regular, base weekly rate of pay.
- If the reason for PFML also is covered by the CIA’s short-term disability program (or other policies), benefits will run concurrently.
- To the extent applicable, PFML will run concurrently with federal FMLA and any leave provided under state or local law.
- The maximum PMFL cannot exceed 11 weeks
- Employees may not exceed a total of 11 weeks combined leave within a year. If an employee has taken time on short-term disability that time will be deducted from their PMFL eligibility.
- If an employee is enrolled in group health insurance or other insurance benefits, these benefits will continue via payroll deduction.
Certification
In support of the need for PFML, the employee must provide a complete and sufficient certification form to CIA within 15 calendar days of the request. If it is not practicable for the employee to provide a certification within 15 days despite the employee’s diligent, good faith efforts to do so, the employee must contact CIA within 15 days to explain the situation.
Certification of the serious health condition must include the following:
- Date when the condition began;
- Condition’s expected duration;
- Relevant facts regarding the condition
For a seriously ill family member, the certification must include a statement that the patient requires assistance and that the employee is needed to care for the family member.
Reinstatement
If an employee timely returns from PFML and used the leave for the stated purpose, the employee will be reinstated to the same position held when leave began, or to an equivalent position with equivalent benefits, pay and other terms and conditions of employment.
Return from PFML will be in compliance with CIA’s FMLA policy as defined in section 5.5 of the employee handbook.
Prohibitions
The following conduct is strictly prohibited in relation to PFML:
- Engaging in fraud, misrepresentation or providing false information to CIA or any health care provider.
- Obtaining additional employment
- Failure to comply with the employee’s obligations under this policy.
- Failure to timely return from the leave.
Employees who engage in such conduct will be subject to loss of benefits, denial or termination of PFML, and discipline.