Qualifying Exigency Leave
An eligible employee may use up to 12 workweeks of FMLA leave for certain reasons, known as qualifying exigencies, when their spouse, child, or parent is on covered active duty or under an impending call to covered active duty.
- For a member of the Regular Armed Forces, covered active duty means duty during deployment with the Armed Forces to a foreign country.
- For a member of the National Guard or Reserves, covered active duty means duty during deployment with the Armed Forces to a foreign country under a call or order to active duty in support of a contingency operation.
Qualifying exigencies include, but are not limited to:
- Making childcare arrangements for the military member’s child,
- Attending certain military ceremonies and briefings, or
- Making financial or legal arrangements to address a military member’s absence.
Military Caregiver Leave
Eligible employees who are family members (spouse, son, daughter, parent or next of kin) of covered service members will be able to take up to 26 workweeks of leave in a single 12 month period to care for a covered service member .
- A covered servicemember is a current servicemember or a recent veteran.
- A current servicemember is a member of the Armed Forces, including a member of the National Guard or Reserves
Eligibility
You may be eligible for FMLA if you:
- have worked for the University for at least 12 months as of the first day of leave; and
- have worked for at least 1,250 hours in the 12 months prior to your first day of leave
FMLA Poster (PDF) Supervisor Responsibilities
Notification
- Give at least 30 days’ notice, if you know in advance of your need for a leave of absence.
- If you learn of your need for time off or a leave of absence less than 30 days ahead of time, request it as soon as you are able.
You do not need to share any specifics about your health circumstances or those of your family member. However, you do need to provide enough information so that your supervisor can understand that your absence may be covered by the FMLA.
Submitting Your Leave Request
Employees may request a leave of absence within Workday to initiate the process and prompt the necessary paperwork. View our guide on how to Request Leave of Absence for instructions..
Required Documentation
Leave of absence due to illness and family leave will require a health-care provider certification form to support the need for time off.
- The form must be returned to HR within 15 days of receipt. Because the information is so time sensitive, it must be completed 30 days from the leave start date. Any submission before 30 days will expire and will need to be completed by the physician again.
An employee may be required to provide the employer with a certification completed by an authorized health care provider or a copy of an Invitational Travel Order (ITO) or Invitational Travel Authorization (ITA) issued to any member of the covered servicemember’s family.
Confidentiality
The Office of Employee Benefits will keep confidential all medical information relating to requests for a medical leave. This information will be used only to make decisions in regards to the provisions of the policy.
- You should not disclose your own or your family member’s medical diagnosis to your supervisor or department.
- Any required certification should be submitted directly to the benefits department, where it will be kept confidential and separate from your personnel file. Do not submit any medical documentation to supervisor.
Employees that are approved for a leave of absence are permitted to charge any accrued paid time off (including sick, vacation, personal, administrative and/or compensatory) in order to receive pay from the University.
Please note that paid time off may be adjusted to reflect only accrued time to restrict employees from utilizing time that has not been earned. This generally applies to time that may have been recently allotted for the new year.
Possible pay continuation options during leave include:
| Sick Time Off |
May be required |
| Vacation Time Off |
Optional |
| Personal Time Off |
Optional |
| Compensatory Time Off |
Optional |
If you will not have sufficient paid time off receive pay by Montclair State University, you have the following wage replacement options through State of New Jersey disability programs:
- Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI)- medical (self): You can find information about the eligibility and application process on the State of New Jersey’s Temporary Disability Insurance website page. Please note: This process is not managed by Montclair State University, you must follow the procedures specified on their website or contact a Customer Service Representative at 609-292-7060.
- Family Leave Insurance (FLI)- medical (family member) : You can find information about the eligibility and application process on the State of New Jersey’s Family Leave Insurance website page. Please note: This process is not managed by Montclair State University, you must follow the procedures specified on their website or contact a Customer Service Representative at 609-292-7060.
During leave, health coverage under any “group health plan” will be maintained on the same terms as if the employee had continued to work.
While on an unpaid leave of absence from Montclair State University
- Employees will be responsible for your usual medical and/or prescription payroll deductions for the six pay periods of leave without pay. Employees will be provided with the information to make the necessary arrangements to continue payments in order to maintain coverage while on leave. Group health insurance may be canceled if an employee fails to make payment.
- If coverage with the University ends while you are on leave, continuation of coverage is offered under COBRA for up to 18 months. Employees will receive a notice about continuation of coverage under COBRA at the time coverage ends. Health coverage must be reinstated upon return to work via Benefitsolver.
- Employees will not earn pension service credit, will not receive or make pension contributions, and will not earn vacation or sick accruals.
