What is a leave of absence?

A leave of absence is time off from work or duty that has been approved by People & Culture team (HR). At PROVAIL, if an employee plans to be away from work for a serious medical condition or does not have sufficient paid time off (PTO), they must apply for a leave of absence.

Here are some examples of reasons for a leave of absence:

• Medical Leave: When the employee, their spouse, or dependent has a serious medical condition.
• Pregnancy, Adoption, Foster, or Baby Bonding.
• Military Service: For instance, if an employee is called to active duty.
• Military Family Leave: For example, if an employee needs to care for dependents while their spouse is deployed.
• Personal Leave: A non-medical leave, leave that is not covered under FMLA, or unpaid time
  off because the employee doesn’t have sufficient PTO. 
• Worker’s Compensation: When an employee is injured on the job.

If you are sick for more than 3 days, notify hr@provail.org or your supervisor so People & Culture can provide you with information about your medical leave rights.

Are leaves of absence paid?

You can use your accrued time off (like sick, vacation, or personal holiday) for different types of leave, such as for your own medical needs, taking care of family members with serious health issues, or during military service. However, there are certain types of time off, like sick leave, that you might not be able to use for a personal leave of absence. If you’re not sure, contact People & Culture (hr@provail.org) for clarification.

If an employee has sufficient accrued paid time off for a non-medical/personal leave request (not job-protected), they should discuss and confirm the PTO/extended vacation directly with their manager. 

If an employee requests time off without having enough paid time off to cover it, or if the leave is medical/family-related (job-protected), they should contact the Leave Administration Specialist, and the request would be processed as a Leave of Absence.

If the People & Culture Office receives a non-medical leave and we find that the employee has sufficient PTO to cover it, we would refer them back to their manager and send a follow-up email documenting the request, the fact that they have sufficient vacation/ personal days, and that we referred them back to the manager to review/approve as extended vacation. 

Managers – If your program / department receives any time-off requests that would be unpaid, medical, or job-protected, the manager will refer those employees to People & Culture and we would process the requests as Leaves of Absence.

Managers – If you have a staff member who is out sick for more than 3 consecutive days (even if they have enough accrued sick time to cover it), please notify People & culture (hr@provail.org).  This is necessary so we can send out the required state and federal notices regarding their medical leave rights to ensure compliance with applicable regulations.

Continuous vs. Intermittent Leave of Absence

• Continuous – leave taken in a single block of time.

For example, Caroline is taking 12 weeks of maternity leave after the birth of her new baby. She will be on leave from February 1 until April 21.

• Intermittent –  ‘a few days here and a few days there’ while the employee continues to work.

For example, Joseph sprained his ankle and he needs to take Tuesday and Friday afternoons off every week for the next six weeks to attend physical therapy.

In UKG, this is referred to as leave frequency.

Contact hr@provail.org if you would like to request leave. More information coming soon!

Vacation: Vacation benefits are given so employees take a break and relax from work. If you’re a regular full or part-time employee scheduled to work at least 20 hours per week, you earn vacation time with each pay period based on the hours you’ve actually worked. (Note: Overtime hours don’t count towards accruing vacation time.) The rate at which you earn vacation depends on how long you’ve been continuously employed at PROVAIL. You can find more details about employee classifications in the PROVAIL Employee Handbook.

Personal Holiday: Every regular full and part-time employee who is scheduled to work at least 20 hours per week gets a Personal Holiday instead of paid federal holidays. This allows staff to use these holidays for cultural observations and personal activities that matter to them personally. Eligible employees receive Personal Holiday hours every quarter, and you can find more information about how this is awarded in the PROVAIL Employee Handbook.

Paid Sick Time: 

PROVAIL offers paid sick leave for times when you need to be away temporarily. You can use sick leave benefits in various situations, such as:

1. If you or your child is sick or injured.
2. To care for your spouse, registered domestic partner, parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling with a serious health condition or emergency.
3. To take leave if you are a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, or if a family member is a victim.
4. To take leave when your child’s school or place of care has been closed by order of a public official for a health-related reason (for example COVID outbreak, some infectious disease, etc).
5. To take leave when your workplace has reduced operations or is closed for health or safety reasons.

The rate of accrual depends on the number of hours an employee works and how long they have been at PROVAIL. Detailed information about sick time accrual is available in the PROVAIL Employee Handbook.

Options When You Have Exhausted Your Accrued PTO

PROVAIL provides paid leave options for employees facing a tough situation and have used up all of their accrued time off (sick, vacation, and personal holiday) . 

• Emergency Sick Leave: For employees who are currently experiencing a catastrophic medical condition as defined as a life-threatening or serious illness or disability requiring continuing treatment or a period of hospitalization as certified by a medical care provider and which requires continuous absence from work of 10 days or more. Eligible employees may receive up to 5 days (40 hours) of paid sick leave.
• Shared Leave Pool: For employees experiencing a catastrophic medical hardship that causes a severe impact to them resulting in a need for additional time off in excess of their available paid time off benefits. Recipients of sick pay donations must also show documentation to HR that they are not eligible for Washington Paid Family Medical Leave. If there is an available pool of sick leave donations, an employee may receive up to 240 hours per year. 

Detailed information about Emergency Sick Leave and the Shared Leave Pool is available in the PROVAIL Employee Handbook. Contact Human Resources for more information.

Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) is a mandatory statewide insurance program that provides paid family and medical leave to eligible employees. It does not replace the Federal Family and Medical Leave (FMLA) Act. In most cases PFML and FMLA will run at the same time.

Filling a PFML claim is a separate process from applying for leave of absence from PROVAIL. When employees file a PFML claim, they must also request a leave of absence with PROVAIL or already be on an approved leave.

Eligibility
Employees who have worked 820 hours in Washington State within the qualifying period will be able to apply to take paid medical leave or paid family leave. The 820 hours are cumulative, regardless of the number of employers or jobs someone has during a year.

Qualifying events:
PFML provides eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of paid leave and partial wage replacement for certain reasons: 

• The birth or adoption of a child;
• A serious health condition of the employee or a qualifying family member;
• Certain military events.

Benefits
While on leave, you are entitled to partial wage replacement. That means you will receive a portion of your average weekly pay. You will be paid by the Employment Security Department rather than PROVAIL.

Supplemental Benefits
In order to best support employees utilizing PFML, PROVAIL allows employees the option of using accrued sick, vacation and personal hours during the same time they are receiving the PFML benefit. This is called a “supplemental benefit.”

How to Apply

•  Confirm your leave of absence with PROVAIL (submit a Leave of Absence form to HR).
•  Visit Paid Family & Medical Leave webpage to apply for paid leave benefits.
•  Once your application is approved, file weekly claims with ESD.
•  Make sure to report any wages that you are receiving during the period. Supplemental benefits do not have to be reported.

If you have questions, contact hr@provail.org.

In accordance with the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), PROVAIL provides eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave during a 12-month period for certain qualifying reasons.

Leave Entitlement

Eligible employees are entitled to Family and Medical Leave under this policy for the following reasons:

• The birth of a child or placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care.

• To bond with a child (leave must be taken within one year of birth or placement).

• To care for their spouse, child, or parent who has a qualifying serious health condition.

• For the employee’s own qualifying serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform their job.

• In situations of a “qualifying exigency” as covered under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), because the employee’s spouse, child, or parent is on active duty or in a reserve unit of the uniformed services, National Guard or coming from retirement, and on active duty (or has been notified of an impending call or order to active duty) in support of a contingency operation in the U.S. Armed Forces.

• If an illness or injury results from active-duty service in the military, a “spouse, son, daughter, parent or next of kin” is entitled to up to 26 weeks of leave if the service member is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy, is otherwise in outpatient status, or is otherwise on the temporary disability retired list. This form of leave also applies to eligible family members of veterans for up to five years after the veteran leaves service for a serious illness or injury incurred during active duty. This 26-week maximum is only available during a single 12-month period and is to be combined with, rather than be in addition to, other FMLA leave taken during the same period.

Leave for the birth or adoption of a child must be taken as one consecutive leave period within 12 months of the birth or adoption and may not be taken on an intermittent or reduced schedule basis unless authorized by the PROVAIL. On the other hand, leave for a serious health condition of the employee, spouse, parent, child, or a qualifying service member may be taken continuously in a block, intermittently, or on a reduced schedule when medically necessary. Intermittent leave may be taken in the smallest increment consistent with other types of leaves. Employees on intermittent leave must continue to comply with the company’s regular absence and call-in reporting policies to the extent possible.

If the employee and their spouse both work for PROVAIL, they have 12 weeks of total leave together for the birth of their child, placement for adoption or foster care, or care for a parent with a serious health condition. However, the full 12 weeks of leave are available to each employee for their own, their child’s, or their spouse’s serious health condition.

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for leave under this policy, an employee must meet all of the following criteria:

• Have worked for PROVAIL for at least 12 months;

• Have at least 1,250 hours of service during the 12-month period immediately preceding the requested leave start date;

• Work at a location where PROVAIL has at least 50 employees within 75 miles.

The 12-month period for determining leave entitlement is calculated from the date leave is used rolling backward 12 months.

Benefits During Family and Medical Leave

Employee health insurance benefits will continue during family and medical leave at the level and conditions that would have been provided had the employee remained continuously employed until the leave ends or until the employee informs us that they will not return to work, whichever occurs first. Employees remain responsible for any premium amounts normally contributed toward their health care coverage, including dependent coverage.

You may choose to apply all of your applicable paid leave benefits, i.e., vacation, sick leave, while initially on leave under this policy and before such time off is designated as unpaid. You remain responsible for any premium amounts normally contributed toward your health care coverage, including dependent coverage. While on Leave Without Pay status, employees do not accrue any Paid Time Off (e.g., vacation, sick accrual).

Notice to the Employer

If an employee plans to take Family and Medical Leave, that employee must give People & Culture (HR) at least 30 days’ advance notice before the commencement of the leave, preferably in writing. If this is not possible (due to an emergency), then the employee must give notice: as soon as possible by following employer call-in procedures.

If the leave is for a planned medical treatment (for the employee themselves or a family member), the employee must make a reasonable effort to schedule the treatment to minimize disruption of PROVAIL’s business.

Upon notification, employees should provide their supervisor with the reason for requesting Family and Medical Leave and the start and end dates of the leave.

Employees do not have to share a medical diagnosis, but must provide enough information to the company so it can determine if the leave qualifies for FMLA protection. Sufficient information could include informing the company that the employee is or will be unable to perform their job functions, that a family member cannot perform daily activities, or that hospitalization or continuing medical treatment is necessary. Employees must inform the company if there is a need for leave for a reason for which FMLA leave was previously taken or certified.

PROVAIL may require a certification or periodic recertification supporting the employee’s need for leave. If the company determines that the certification is incomplete, it will provide a written notice indicating what additional information is required.

Employer Responsibilities

Once PROVAIL becomes aware that an employee’s need for leave is for a reason that may qualify under the FMLA, the company must notify the employee if they are eligible for FMLA leave and, if eligible, must also provide a notice of rights and responsibilities under the FMLA. The company must provide a reason for ineligibility if the employee is not eligible.

PROVAIL must notify employees if leave will be designated as FMLA leave, and if so, how much leave will be designated as FMLA leave.

Definitions

• “Child” includes a biological child, adopted or foster child, stepchild, legal ward, or a child for whom the employee stands in lieu of parents.

• Persons standing in lieu of parents are those with day-to-day responsibilities to care for or financially support the child. No legal or biological relationship is necessary. Examples of these situations may include grandparents, the parent’s spouse or partner.

•  A child must be either under 18 years of age or 18 years of age or older and incapable of self-care because of mental or physical disability.

• “Parent” includes the employee’s parent but not the parent of the employee’s spouse.

• “Serious health condition” is an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that requires:

• Inpatient care at a hospital, hospice, or residential medical care facility; or

• Continuing treatment by a health care provider, e.g., more than 3 consecutive days absent, chronic conditions, etc.

• “Spouse” includes opposite or same-sex spouses, and coverage for leave is recognized under both state and federal law.

Medical Certification

PROVAIL requires medical certification from an employee seeking Family and Medical Leave for their own or a qualifying family member’s serious health condition. The employee’s or the ill family member’s health care provider must fully complete the form in order for the Employer to assess the appropriateness and authorization for the requested leave. A request for leave may be delayed or denied if the request for documentation is not provided within the time period requested.

If PROVAIL questions the completeness, accuracy, or vagueness of information contained in the certification concerning a serious health condition, PROVAIL may require the employee to have the form resubmitted by the health care provider for clarity or seek clarifying information directly from the health care provider.

If needed, we may require, at our expense, the employee to obtain a second certification from another health care provider of PROVAIL’s choice. If the first and second certifications differ, we may obtain a third certification from a health care provider selected jointly by both PROVAIL and the employee. The third healthcare provider certification is final and binding for both parties, and PROVAIL will pay appropriate screening costs.

PROVAIL requires all employees to provide a fitness-for-duty certification after a continuous FMLA leave.

Employment Restoration

Employees returning to work from an approved Family and Medical Leave will return to the same position or to another position with equivalent employment benefits, pay, and other terms and conditions of employment.

There is one exception to the requirement to restore employment: if a ‘key employee’ requests family and medical leave, PROVAIL can deny job reinstatement to prevent “substantial and grievous economic injury” to its operations. A key employee is a salaried employee who is among the highest-paid 10% of all employees within 75 miles of the employee’s work site. Prior to denying restoration to an employee in this position, PROVAIL will provide notice to the employee that they are designated as such an employee, that restoration will be denied, and provide the employee a reasonable opportunity to return to work.

If the key employee is already on leave when notified, reinstatement will be denied only if the employee fails to return to work after a reasonable period of time after receiving notice.

Although PROVAIL can deny employment reinstatement to key employees whose absence would substantially disrupt PROVAIL’s business, we will not deny leave or continuation of health benefits.

Protections

PROVAIL will not interfere with an individual’s FMLA rights or retaliate against someone for using or trying to use FMLA leave, opposing any practice made unlawful by the FMLA, or being involved in any proceeding under or related to the FMLA.

Employees may file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, or may bring a private lawsuit against an employer. The FMLA does not affect any federal or state law prohibiting discrimination or supersede any state or local law or collective bargaining agreement that provides greater family or medical leave rights.

An employee who fraudulently obtains Family and Medical Leave from PROVAIL is not protected by the FMLA’s job restoration or maintenance of health benefits provisions. In addition, PROVAIL will take all available appropriate disciplinary action against such employees due to such fraud.

Failure to Return to Work After Family and Medical Leave

If an employee elects not to return to work from their approved Family and Medical Leave, PROVAIL is entitled to recover any employer-paid premium for health insurance during the leave period, unless the employee does not return due to a serious health condition of the employee or the employee’s spouse, child, parent, or some other reason beyond the employee’s control.

If you are the spouse, child, parent, or next of kin of a military service member who has a serious illness or injury from active-duty service, PROVAIL provides up to 26 weeks of leave under the federal FMLA while the service member is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, therapy, or is otherwise in outpatient status, or on the temporary disability retired list. This form of leave also applies to eligible family members of veterans for up to five years after the veteran leaves service for a serious illness or injury incurred during active duty. This 26-week maximum is available only during a single 12-month period starting from the first day that such leave is taken and is combined with other FMLA leaves taken during the same period, i.e., not offered in addition to other FMLA leave periods.

Please contact hr@provail.org with any questions or need for more information about this policy.

EMPLOYEE OBLIGATIONS

Any employee planning to take parental leave should communicate with the People & Culture Team (HR) as early as possible. The individual should notify their manager and work together to discuss the timeline of their leave and leave coverage plans.

Notice of Leave

Employees who need to take parental leave must inform PROVAIL of the anticipated date that leave is expected to begin and how long it will likely last. At a minimum, the employee must provide written notice at least 30 days in advance of the anticipated start of parental leave, which must include the intended length of leave and planned return date.

If you intend to apply for WA PFML, you must notify PROVAIL by completing a WA PFML Request Form at least 30 days before the first day you intend to take leave if the need for leave is foreseeable. In cases where the need for leave is unforeseeable, you must notify PROVAIL as soon as is practical. The WA PFML Request Form must be submitted to hr@provail.org. The notice must contain the anticipated timing and duration of the leave. For intermittent leaves, the notice must also include the anticipated frequency of the leave. Additionally, you must also inform hr@provail.org as soon as practical if the dates of the leave change, are extended, or were initially unknown.

If the employee would like to return to work sooner than their originally requested date, PROVAIL will work with that employee to adjust their return date and any associated logistics. Managers will return the employee to the schedule within a reasonable timeframe.

STATE & FEDERAL RIGHTS

Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

In accordance with federal and state family and medical leave laws, PROVAIL provides eligible employees up to 12-weeks of unpaid leave during a 12-month period to care for a newborn or newly adopted/foster child.

Leave for the birth or adoption of a child must be taken as one consecutive leave period within 12 months of the birth or adoption and may not be taken on an intermittent or reduced schedule basis unless authorized by the PROVAIL. 

See FAMILY & MEDICAL LEAVE POLICY for more information.

WA Paid Family Medical Leave (WA PFML)

WA PFML is a statewide insurance program administered by the Employment Security Department (ESD), providing paid family and medical leave to eligible employees working in Washington. Employees who have worked in Washington state for at least 820 hours (about 16 hours a week) during the qualifying period (about a year) may be entitled to WA PFML benefits. If approved, WA PFML typically provides 12 weeks of partial wage replacement for an employee’s pregnancy disability period or bonding time, 16 weeks for pregnancy disability and bonding time, or 18 weeks total if the employee experiences complications from the pregnancy or birth. Applying for WA PFML is a separate process from FMLA, and employees must apply directly with ESD at https://paidleave.wa.gov/apply-now/.

WA PFML is administered exclusively by the ESD. This means the ESD may deny or approve your claim based on the information you and your healthcare provider supply in the application. They also decide on the dates and duration, again, based on the information you and your healthcare provider supply in the application. If you fail to apply for benefits through the ESD, if your benefits are denied, or if you do not report to work when you are not on an approved WA PFML or other protected leave, your absence from work may be considered unexcused and subject to PROVAIL disciplinary policies.

SALARY AND BENEFITS DURING LEAVE

You may choose to apply all of your applicable paid leave benefits, e.g., vacation, personal days, sick leave, while initially on leave under this policy, and before such time off is designated as unpaid. 

During the paid portion of your leave, you will continue to accrue sick and vacation hours. During any unpaid portion of your leave, you will not accrue sick or vacation hours, nor will you receive personal holiday hours. If possible, you are responsible for completing and approving your timecards for the last pay period worked before your leave.

FMLA: While you are on FMLA leave, your current employer-provided benefits will continue for the duration of the leave. If you are on unpaid leave status, you will be responsible for your portion of any insurance premiums. We encourage you to contact the People & Culture Team (HR) at hr@provail.org to discuss payment arrangements.

WA PFML: PROVAIL maintains existing health benefits for employees receiving WA PFML if they have at least one day of overlap with leave taken under the federal FMLA. Health benefits will continue without a break in coverage until the employee’s WA PFML leave ends. Employees are responsible for paying their portion of health insurance premiums during WA PFML leave.

PREGNANCY DISABILITY LEAVE AND ACCOMMODATION

PROVAIL will reasonably accommodate pregnant employees regardless of disability, unless doing so would create an undue hardship for the employer.

Pregnancy disability leave is granted to all pregnant employees upon receipt of a physician’s certification stating that they are unable to work due to pregnancy. Employees on leave are expected to keep the employer updated regarding the expected return date.

We will provide nursing employees with sufficient work shift modifications and private space to express milk.

Breastfeeding

Consistent with State and Federal law, PROVAIL provides reasonable break time for employees to express breast milk for their nursing child for two years after the child’s birth. Breaks should be coordinated with your supervisor. 

You can reserve the Wellness Room in Suite D to pump on an as-needed basis. 

Wellness Room Access:
Headquarters, Suite D
12550 Aurora Ave N Seattle WA 98133

Email hr@provail.org to schedule.

AFTER THE BABY ARRIVES

Adding A Child To Your Benefits

Once your child has joined your family through birth or adoption, you may want to add them to your benefit plan. You have 60 days from the birth, adoption, or placement for adoption to add a new dependent to your benefit plan anTo do so, contact the People & Culture Team (HR) at hr@provail.org to make these changes. 

Failure to request a change of status within the 60-day timeframe may result in you having to wait until the next open enrollment period to make your change.

Updating Your Payroll Tax Withholding

1. You can update your payroll tax withholding by completing the W-4 withholding form in UKG. Navigate to Myself > Pay > Income Tax 

2. Click on Add/Change Withholding Form (W-4). This link appears in the upper right corner of the screen under Things I Can Do. 

3. A list of forms will appear. Click on the correct one and answer the questions on each page.

Updating Your Beneficiary Information

Life Insurance:

1. Contact Symetra’s Member Services at (800) 426-7784 

403(b) Retirement Plan Beneficiary Updates:

1. Log into The Standard.

2. Click on My Account.

3. From the dropdown menu on the left, select Change Beneficiary.

4. Click on Manage Beneficiaries. 

5. Enter the required information on the Beneficiary Designation form. 

6. Verify the information is correct and click Submit.

• REQUESTING A LEAVE OF ABSENCE

Please watch the video How to Apply for Leave of Absence in UKG Pro. Contact hr@provail.org if you have any questions.