Effective December 13, 2012, the Employee and Labor Relations Manual (ELM), subchapter 510, is revised to:
n Clarify that the Department of Labor’s Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) forms are provided for the employee’s convenience, as they solicit all required information; however, employees may use another format as long as it provides complete and sufficient information as required by the FMLA.
n Expand and clarify 515.43, Authorized Hours, for full-time, part-time, and non-traditional full-time employees as well as employees who do not have normal weekly schedules.
n State that, if supporting documentation is requested, employees must provide it directly to the FMLA Office at the Human Resources Shared Services Center within 15 days from the date they receive the request.
Employee and Labor Relations Manual (ELM)
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5 Employee Benefits
510 Leave
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512 Annual Leave
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512.4 Authorizing Annual Leave
512.41 Requests for Annual Leave
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512.412 Emergencies
[Revise 512.412 to read as follows:]
An exception to the advance approval requirement is made for emergencies; however, in these situations, the employee must notify appropriate postal authorities of the emergency and the expected duration of the absence as soon as possible.
When sufficient information is provided to determine that the absence may be covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the following Department of Labor forms will be mailed to the employee’s address of record along with a return envelope:
a. WH 381, FMLA Notice of Eligibility and Rights and Responsibilities; and
b. One of the following forms, as appropriate:
1. WH-380-E, FMLA Certification of Health Care Provider for Employee’s Serious Health Condition.
2. WH-380-F, FMLA Certification of Health Care Provider for Family Member’s Serious Health Condition.
3. WH-384, FMLA Certification for Qualifying Exigency for Military Family Leave.
4. WH-385, FMLA Certification for Serious Injury or Illness of Covered Servicemember — for Military Family Leave.
Note: These forms are provided for the employee’s convenience, as they solicit all required information; however, employees may use another format as long as it provides complete and sufficient information as required by the FMLA. The information provided should relate only to the specific reason associated with the request for leave protection.
PS Form 3971, Request for or Notification of Absence, will be provided to the employee upon his or her return to duty.
When sufficient information to determine that the absence is covered by FMLA is not provided in advance of the absence, the employee must submit PS Form 3971 and applicable medical or other certification upon returning to duty and explain the reason for the emergency to his or her supervisor.
Supervisors approve or disapprove the leave request. When the request is disapproved, the absence may be recorded as LWOP or absent without leave (AWOL) at the discretion of the supervisor as outlined in 512.422.
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513 Sick Leave
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513.3 Authorizing Sick Leave
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513.33 Requests for Sick Leave
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513.332 Unexpected Illness or Injury
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[Revise 513.332a and 513.332b to read as follows:]
a. WH 381, FMLA Notice of Eligibility and Rights and Responsibilities; and
b. One of the following forms, as appropriate:
1. WH-380-E, FMLA Certification of Health Care Provider for Employee’s Serious Health Condition.
2. WH-380-F, FMLA Certification of Health Care Provider for Family Member’s Serious Health Condition.
3. WH-385, FMLA Certification for Serious Injury or Illness of Covered Servicemember — for Military Family Leave.
Note: These forms are provided for the employee’s convenience, as they solicit all required information; however, employees may use another format as long as it provides complete and sufficient information as required by the FMLA. The information provided should relate only to the specific reason associated with the request for leave protection.
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514 Leave Without Pay
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514.2 Policy
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514.22 Administrative Discretion
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[Revise 514.22c to read as follows:]
c. An employee who requests and is entitled to time off under 515, Absence for Family Care or Serious Health Condition of Employee, must be allowed up to a total of 12 workweeks of absence within a Postal Service leave year for one or more of the reasons listed in 515.41(a) through 515.41(e), and up to 26 workweeks of leave during a single 12-month period to care for covered service members with a serious injury or illness.
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515 Absence for Family Care or Illness of Employee
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515.2 Definitions
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[Revise the note in 515.2i(6) to read as follows:]
Note: Cosmetic treatments (such as most treatments for orthodontia or acne) are not “serious health conditions” unless complications occur. Restorative dental surgery after an accident or removal of cancerous growths is a serious health condition provided all other conditions are met. Allergies, substance abuse, and mental illness may be protected if all conditions are met. Routine preventative physical examinations are excluded. Also excluded, as a regimen of continuing treatments, are treatments that involve only over-the-counter medicine or activities such as bed rest that can be initiated without a visit to a health care provider. For example, treatment for substance abuse may be protected if provided by a health care provider or by a provider of health care services on referral by a health care provider.
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515.4 Leave Requirements
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515.43 Authorized Hours
[Revise 515.43 to read as follows:]
Eligible employees are entitled to 12 workweeks of FMLA-protected absences per leave year for conditions in 515.41(a) through 515.41(e). Eligible employees who take FMLA-protected leave to care for a covered service member who has incurred a serious injury or illness as defined in 515.2(j) are entitled to a total of 26 workweeks during a single 12-month period.
This amount is 12 (or 26) times the hours normally, or regularly, scheduled in the employee’s workweek. Thus:
a. Full-time employees who normally work 40 hours per week are entitled to up to 480 hours of FMLA-covered absences within a leave year for all qualifying reasons except for covered service member care. For such service member care, full-time employees who normally work 40 hours per week are entitled to up to 1046 hours in a single 12-month period that begins when the first leave is taken.
b. Part-time and Non-Traditional Full-Time (NTFT) employees who have regular weekly schedules that may be greater or less than 40 hours per week are entitled to 12 (or 26) times the number of hours normally scheduled in their workweek. For example, a part-time employee with a regular schedule of 30 hours a week is entitled to 360 hours (12 weeks times 30 hours), or 780 hours, for service member care (26 weeks times 30 hours). An NTFT employee with a regular schedule of 44 hours a week is entitled to 528 hours (12 weeks times 44 hours), or 1144 hours, for service member care (26 weeks times 44 hours). If an employee is reassigned to a position with more or less workhours, the entitlement may change, but will be calculated so that the employee does not exceed 12 or 26 workweeks of FMLA protection.
c. Employees who do not have normal weekly schedules are entitled to 12 (or 26) times the weekly average of the hours scheduled over the 12 months prior to the start of their leave. Employees who do not have normal weekly schedules are entitled to 12 (or 26) times the weekly average of the hours scheduled over the 12 months prior to the start of their leave. The scheduled workhours are determined by adding the workhours and the amount of leave taken.
Absences in addition to the 12 (or 26) workweeks of FMLA-protected leave may be granted in accordance with other leave policies or collective bargaining agreements (see 511, 512, 513, and 514).
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515.5 Notice and Documentation
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515.52 Documentation
[Revise 515.52 to read as follows:]
In all cases, it is the employee’s responsibility to provide complete and sufficient medical certification to establish a serious health condition as defined under the FMLA. For their own serious health conditions, employees may submit Department of Labor Form WH-380-E, FMLA Certification of Health Care Provider for Employee’s Serious Health Condition, which is provided in the FMLA packet mailed to employees’ homes. These forms are provided for the employee’s convenience, as they solicit all required information; however, employees may use another format as long as it provides complete and sufficient information as required by the FMLA. The information provided should relate only to the specific reason associated with the request for leave protection.
Employees must provide documentation directly to the FMLA Office at the Human Resources Shared Services Center (HRSSC) within 15 days of receipt of the request. Additional documentation may be requested of the employee if the information received is incomplete or insufficient for an FMLA determination, and this must be provided within 7 days unless it is not practicable under the particular facts and circumstances despite the employee’s diligent good-faith efforts. When the need for leave is due to a serious health condition that lasts beyond a single leave year, the employee may be required to provide a new medical certification in each subsequent leave year.
Failure to provide complete and sufficient documentation may result in the denial of FMLA protection.
515.53 Particular Circumstances
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515.532 Care of Others for Medical Reasons
[Revise 515.532d to read as follows:]
d. Provide documentation of a serious health condition or serious injury or illness from an appropriate health care provider. Employees may use WH-380-F, FMLA Certification of Health Care Provider for Family Member’s Serious Health Condition or WH-385, FMLA Certification for Serious Injury or Illness of Covered Servicemember — for Military Family Leave, to support such requests for leave.
These forms are provided for the employee’s convenience, as they solicit all required information; however, employees may use another format as long as it provides complete and sufficient information as required by the FMLA. The information provided should relate to only the specific reason associated with the request for leave protection.
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515.535 Qualifying Exigency
[Revise 515.535 to read as follows:]
An employee requesting FMLA-covered time off because of a qualifying exigency arising out of a covered family member’s call to covered active duty in the Armed Forces (see 515.2(g)) must provide complete and sufficient certification. The employee may use WH-384, FMLA Certification for Qualifying Exigency for Military Family Leave, to support such request for leave. This form will be provided for the employee’s convenience, as it solicits all required information; however, employees may use another format as long as it provides complete and sufficient information as required by the FMLA.
515.54 Additional Medical Opinions
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[Revise the second paragraph of 515.54 to read as follows:]
The recertification of a medical condition, for which the employee bears the cost, may be required during a leave year pursuant to the terms of the FMLA. A new certification of the employee’s serious health condition may be requested for that condition in each subsequent leave year. Such medical opinions are obtained off the clock.
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We will incorporate these revisions into the next printed version of the ELM and into the next online update, available on the Postal Service PolicyNet website:
n Go to http://blue.usps.gov.
n Under “Essential Links” in the left-hand column, click PolicyNet.
n On the PolicyNet page, click Manuals.
(The direct URL for the Postal Service PolicyNet website is http://blue.usps.gov/cpim.)
— Health and Resource Management
Employee Resource Management, 12-13-12
