Family Leave Pool

The regulation is online at  Family Leave Pool System Regulation 31.06.03.

An employee who receives hours from the family leave pool must have a documented need to use the hours. The receiving employee must have exhausted all their own available paid leave prior to receiving hours from the pool. Employees who are on Workers Compensation are not eligible for FLP.

Yes, all forms of applicable leave must be exhausted to be eligible to receive FLP leave.

No, pool balances consist of individual employee donations of accrued leave; the university/agency does not contribute leave to the FLP.

You will need to submit the completed Medical Certification Form for Employee (or Family Member) as appropriate. 

Additional relationship documentation is not required if the family member is covered as a dependent under the employee’s insurance benefits. Otherwise to care for another person, the employee must submit and be listed on the other person's birth certificate, birth facts, or adoption or foster paperwork for a child under 18 years of age, including being listed as the mother, father, adoptive parent, foster parent, or partner of the child's mother, adoptive parent, or foster parent, or provide documentation that the employee is the guardian of a person who is 18 years of age or older and requiring guardianship.

You will need to submit the birth certificate or adoption order. If using hours from the pool for bonding in the first year after the child’s birth, the employee must be listed on the child’s birth certificate. In the event of adoption, Attorney General opinion is that a state employee who adopts a child under three years of age is to be treated as if he or she had undergone pregnancy and childbirth.

If the request is for extenuating circumstance created by an ongoing pandemic, including providing essential care to a family member, the employee must provide any applicable documentation, including an essential caregiver designation, proof of closure of a school or daycare, or other appropriate documentation.

No. An employee cannot receive more hours than the doctor certifies. Any unused hours will be removed from the employee’s balance and returned to the pool.

No. An employee may donate any amount of leave.

The maximum number of hours an employee can receive is capped at the lesser of 1/3 of the pool balance or 90 days.

Yes. An employee may not receive more than a total of 90 days during their employment.

You will request Time Off in Workday. There will be an option to choose the type of FLP in the dropdown list.

All FLP hours will be removed from an employee’s balance upon termination. The FLP hours do not transfer to another state entity, do not count for retirement credit and these hours are not eligible for restoration upon re-employment.

Hours received from the family leave pool may be applied from the award date forward. Hours may not be applied to absences that occurred prior to the award.

The FLP may receive taxable or non-taxable hours from the donor dependent upon the donor’s designation when hours are donated. If taxable, IRS regulations require the university/agency to withhold taxes on the donated leave from the donor. The tax rate is approximately 25% and is based on the donor’s salary. Recipients of FLP leave will be subject to normal payroll withholding taxes in the same manner as using any type of paid leave.

In the event of a withdrawal, the IRS guidelines for a medical emergency will be used to determine if the recipient is eligible for taxable or non-taxable hours. Non-taxable hours may be used for a major illness or other medical condition that requires a prolonged leave absence (at least 40 hours) from work.

• Birth of a child
• Serious illness of an immediate family member or the employee, including pandemic related illness
  

TAXABLE

• Bonding – in the first year after child’s birth
• Placement of any person 18 years of age or older requiring guardianship

TAXABLE OR NONTAXABLE*

• Placement of Foster child or adoption of a child under 18 years of age
  
• An extenuating circumstance created by an ongoing pandemic, including providing essential care to a family member
  
• A previous donation of time to the pool

*In the event of adoption, Attorney General opinion is that a state employee who adopts a child under three years of age is to be treated as if he or she had undergone pregnancy and childbirth. Based on this, adoption of a child under three years old would be non-taxable. In the event of an extenuating circumstance, an example of a taxable event may be a school closure as this would not meet IRS medical emergency guidelines. 

All documentation submitted in support of your request for time off from the FLP will be evaluated for job protected time off under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).  If it is determined that you are eligible for time off under the FMLA, you FMLA entitlement will run concurrently with any hours awarded from the FLP.