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Family and Medical Leave Act
FMLA:
The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires that the University provide eligible employees with job-protected, unpaid leave for qualified medical and family reasons. Options for taking Family and Medical Leave (FMLA) are continuous leave, intermittent leave, or a reduced work schedule.
The following information gives an overview of the FMLA and the steps you will need to take when an employee requests FMLA. There are time-specific deadlines at each step of the process for both employees and supervisors.
For initial consultation on FMLA matters, please contact your HR Service Center Manager or Ask-HR.
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Employee Eligibility for FMLA
- Employee must have been employed by a State of South Carolina agency for at least 12 months.
- These 12 months must not be consecutive, but your break in service cannot have been more than a seven-year period.
- You must have worked for the State of South Carolina agency for at least 1250 hours in the last 12 months before you take leave.
- This minimum 1250-hour calculation includes actual hours worked, including overtime hours.
- This minimum 1250-hour calculation excludes annual, sick, personal, holiday, or compensatory time.
- Employee must have been employed by a State of South Carolina agency for at least 12 months.
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Qualifying reasons an employee can use FMLA
An eligible employee can take up to 12 weeks of FMLA leave in a calendar year for a variety of reasons, including:
Serious Health Condition
- You are unable to work because of your own serious health condition.
- You need to care for your spouse, child or parent with a serious health condition.
Military Family Leave
- Your leave is for specified reasons related to certain military deployments.
- You need to care for a covered service member with a serious injury or illness.
- You are unable to work because of the birth of a child and to bond with the newborn child.
- You are unable to work because of the placement of a child for adoption or foster care and to bond with that child.
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How long can an employee be out on FMLA?
An employee can take up to 12 weeks of FMLA in a calendar year.
- FMLA leave may be taken as a single block of time, in multiple, smaller blocks of time, or on a part-time basis if the need to do so has been medically documented.
- By itself, FMLA leave is unpaid leave. However, if you are eligible for paid leave and have sick leave, annual leave, grant personal leave or other paid leave available, you will be required to use your available balances.
