Employee Procedure for Requesting Leave of Absence

BioMed Human Resources serves as the point of contact for Divisional employees requesting a leave of absence.

Brown University Leave of Absence policies are located on the Benefits home page and can be accessed via

http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Human_Resources/benefits/index.html

University policy #30.024 outlines eligibility and process for both medical and personal leaves of absence (links below).

http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Human_Resources/policies/30.024.html

http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Human_Resources/policies/30.026.html (Maternity Benefit)

H.R. Policy #30.024 states “when the need for a leave is foreseeable, staff members must give as much notice as possible (preferably a minimum of 30 days) to their departments of their request for leaves. Family and medical leaves generally require that an employee provide 30 days advance notice of the need to take a leave, except in unforeseen or emergency situations.”

Please note that when on a leave, it is the employee’s responsibility to provide their Supervisor/Department with updates and expectations regarding their return to work date. In some instances, medical updates from the treating physician may be requested from the Benefits Office.

Following is an outline of the leave process for staff members.

• Absences of 2 weeks or less – no leave request is necessary. Employee may utilize available sick/vacation time if they choose to remain in Paid status.
• Absences of 2 weeks or more – Request for Leave of Absence form must be completed. Please access via http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Human_Resources/forms/index.html
• Employee completes the Leave of Absence Request form and submits it to their supervisor for signature. The completed and signed LOA Request form should be sent directly to BioMed Human Resources, Attn: Susan Carnes, Box G-A112.
• University Benefits will send a package of information to the employee outlining the dates and terms of their leave of absence. It is important that this material be reviewed thoroughly and any questions or concerns be directed to Susan Carnes (863-1039) in BioMed Human Resources or Stephanie Romano (863-1790), University Leave Specialist in the Benefits office.
• In cases of a medical leave, the employee provides their treating physician with a Health Care Certification form*

  http://www.dol.gov/whd/forms/WH-380-E.pdf (employee’s OWN medical condition)

  http://www.dol.gov/whd/forms/WH-380-F.pdf (family member’s medical condition)
  

  The Health Care Certification should be submitted to the health care provider as soon as possible. If the Health Care Certification is not received prior to an employee going on a leave, the employee will have 15 days from the mailing date of the preliminary approval letter sent by the Benefits Office to return one.
  

  Health Care Certification forms should be submitted DIRECTLY to the Leave Specialist, Box 1879. Fax: 401-863-3158.

• Upon returning to work, the employee must submit a note from their Dr. returning them to work. If applicable, any physical restrictions must be mentioned in the return-to-work note. This note should be sent to Susan Carnes in BioMed Human Resources on the employees first day back to work.

Temporary Disability Insurance is a state-administered program, independent of Brown University. Employees wishing to file a Temporary Disability Insurance Claim may apply securely on-line via http://www.dlt.ri.gov/tdi/ ordownload the TDI application or request an application be mailed to you by telephone – call (401)462-8420 and select option “1” for an application. An application bar-coded with your personal information will be mailed to you. If you become ill or injured, and an examination by a healthcare provider indicates that you cannot work for at least 7 consecutive days, your claim should be filed as soon as possible to avoid jeopardizing or delaying your first payment.

You will be asked to provide your: Name, Address, Social Security Number, Phone Number, and Date You Were First Unable to Work due to Illness/Injury.

Supervisor Procedure for Processing Employee Leave of Absence Request

University policy #30.024 outlines eligibility and process for both medical and personal leaves of absence.

http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Human_Resources/policies/30.024.html

http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Human_Resources/policies/30.026.html (Maternity Benefit)

BioMed Human Resources serves as the point of contact for Divisional employees going on a leave of absence. The procedure is outlined below for both the employee and the supervisor.

H.R. Policy #30.024 states “when the need for a leave is foreseeable, staff members must give as much notice as possible (preferably a minimum of 30 days) to their departments of their request for leaves. Family and medical leaves generally require that an employee provide 30 days advance notice of the need to take a leave, except in unforeseen or emergency situations.”

1. Employee completes a Leave of Absence Request Form and submits to their supervisor. The supervisor signs the form and returns it to the employee who will forward it to BioMed Human Resources. The LOA Request Form can be accessed via http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Human_Resources/forms/loa.pdf

   The request form must contain the leave dates (if unknown, please provide estimated times), the last day worked, maximum amount of available sick and vacation days that the employee is willing to use, and any comments that you feel are necessary.

   Please verify any sick or vacation time submitted on a Leave of Absence Request form via Leave Tracker.

2. The department manager will complete a PAF for the employee indicating the start and end dates of the leave, the status of the leave, the LOA reason (03 FMLA, 04 Personal LOA, etc.), and any pay line updates.
3. The PAF should be forwarded to Susan Carnes, BioMed Human Resources, Box G-A112. Any doctor’s notes or medical certification forms should be sent directly to Susan Carnes as well and they will get delivered to University Benefits.  Please note per HIPAA guidelines, medical documentation of any type may not be kept in an employee file or in any type of department file. If any doctor’s notes or medical updates are received while the employee is out on a medical leave, these too must be forwarded to BioMed Human Resources.
4. When the employee is ready to return to work, on their first day back they must provide a copy of a return to work note from their physician. This should be sent to BioMed Human Resources along with an updated PAF listing the return to work date, status of the leave, pay line updates, and actions (04 for Return to Work).