School Board of the City of Virginia Beach
Regulation 4-55.1

PERSONNEL

Family and Medical Leave

A. Eligible Employees

An employee who has worked for the School Board for: (i) at least twelve (12) months; and (ii) for at least 1,250 hours during the previous twelve (12) months is eligible to apply for the leave provided herein.

B. Definitions

The following definitions shall apply for purposes of this policy:

1. The term "parent" means the biological parent of an employee or an individual who stood in loco parentis to an employee when the employee was a minor.
   
2. The term "son or daughter" means a biological, adopted or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward, or a child of a person standing in loco parentis, who is: (i) under 18 years of age; or (ii) 18 years of age or older and incapable of self-care because of mental or physical disability. "Incapable of self care" means that the individual requires active assistance or supervision to provide daily self-care in several of the activities of daily living.
   
3. The term "serious health condition" means an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves:
   
   1. any period of incapacity or treatment in connection with or consequent to inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential medical care facility; or
   2. any period of incapacity requiring absence from work, school, or other regular daily activities, of more than three calendar days, that also involves continuing treatment by a health care provider; or continuing treatment by a health care provider for a chronic or long-term health condition that is incurable or so serious that, if not treated, would likely result in a period of incapacity of more than three calendar days; or for prenatal care.
4. The term "continuing treatment by a health care provider" means one or more of the following:
   
   
   1. the employee or family member is treated two or more times for the injury or illness by a health care provider or by a provider of health care services under orders of, or referral by, a health care provider, or the employee or family member is treated by a health care provider on at least one occasion which results in a regimen of continuing treatment with the supervision of the health care provider.
   2. the employee or family member is under the continuing supervision of a health care provider due to a serious long-term or chronic condition or disability which cannot be cured.

   Voluntary or cosmetic treatments which are not medically necessary are not serious health conditions, unless inpatient hospital care is required.

5. The term "reduced leave schedule" means a leave schedule that reduces the usual number of hours per workweek, or hours per workday, of an employee.

C. Leave

1. In General
   
   
   1. Except as hereinafter provided, an eligible employee shall be entitled to a total of twelve (12) workweeks of unpaid leave during a twelve (12) month period. The twelve (12) month period will begin on the first day an employee uses Family and Medical Leave pursuant to this policy and will end three hundred sixty-four (364) days later
      
      
      1. because of the birth of a son or daughter of the employee and in order to care for such son or daughter;
         
      2. because of the placement of a son or daughter with the employee for adoption or foster care;
         
         
      3. because the employee is needed to care for his/her spouse, son, daughter or parent, if such spouse, son, daughter, or parent has a serious health condition; or
         
         
      4. because of a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the functions of his or her position.
         
   2. The entitlement to leave for a birth or placement of a son or daughter shall expire twelve (12) months after such birth or placement.
      
      
   3. A husband and wife who are both employed by the School Board may only take a combined total of twelve (12) weeks of leave during the school year for the birth or placement of a child or to care for a parent (but not a parent-in-law) with a serious health condition.
      
2. Leave taken intermittently or on a reduced schedule
   
   
   1. Leave for the birth or placement of a child shall not be taken by an employee intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule without the written authorization of the Division Superintendent.
      
      
   2. Leave for the serious health condition of an employee or an employee's spouse, parent or child may be taken intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule when medically necessary. If such leave is foreseeable based on planned medical treatment, the Division Superintendent may require the employee to transfer temporarily to an available alternative position for which the employee is qualified and that has equivalent pay and benefits and, in the Division Superintendent's opinion, better accommodates recurring periods of leave than the regular employment position of the employee.
      
      
   3. Employees may not take leave in less than one (1) hour increments.
      
      
3. Substitution of Paid Leave

An employee may substitute any accrued paid annual, personal or sick leave for unpaid leave taken pursuant to this regulation.

D. Foreseeable Leave

1. Notice
   
   In any case in which the necessity for leave is foreseeable based on an expected birth or placement, or planned medical treatment, the employee shall request such leave not less than 30 days before the date leave is to begin, except that if the date of the birth or placement, or medical treatment, requires leave to begin in less than thirty (30) calendar days, the employee shall provide as much notice as is practicable.
   
   
2. Duties of Employee
   
   In any case in which the necessity for leave for the serious health condition of an employee or of an employee's spouse, parent or child is foreseeable, based on planned medical treatment, the employee shall make a reasonable effort to schedule the treatment so as not to unduly disrupt the operations of the School Division.
   
   
3. Requests for Leave
   
   Requests for leave shall be made on forms provided by the Compliance Office in the Department of Human Resources.
   

E. Certification and Other Opinions

1. An employee requesting leave on account of a serious health condition must submit a medical certification on the form provided by the Compliance Office.
   
   
2. In any case in which the Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources has reason to doubt the validity of the certification for leave, he/she may require, at the School Board's expense, that the employee obtain a second opinion of a health care provider designated or approved by the Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources concerning any information in the certification.
   
   
3. If the second opinion differs from the original certification, the Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources may require, at the School Board's expense, that the employee obtain a third opinion of a provider jointly approved by the employee and the Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources. The third opinion shall be final and binding.
   
   
4. The Assistant Superintendent or designee may require an employee to obtain subsequent certifications on a reasonable basis no more frequently than thirty (30) calendar days.
   
   
5. The failure of an employee to provide the required medical certification will terminate the employee's right to leave and nullify any leave already taken by the employee.

F. Employee and Benefits Protection

1. An employee who takes leave under this regulation shall, upon return from said leave, be restored to the position he or she left or to an equivalent position.
   
   
2. An employee taking leave under this regulation shall not lose any benefits accrued prior to taking leave, but no such employee shall accrue seniority or benefits while on unpaid leave.
   
   
3. An employee who takes leave for his own serious health condition shall provide the Compliance Office with a certification from the health care provider, on the prescribed form, that the employee is able to resume work.
   
   
4. The Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources may require employees on leave under this regulation to report periodically on the status and intention of the employee to return to work.
   
   
5. The School Board may recover any premiums that it paid for maintaining benefit coverages for an employee during the period of unpaid leave hereunder if the employee does not return to work after the expiration of the leave, except for health benefit premiums when the employee does not return to work because of the continuation, recurrence, or onset of a serious health condition that entitles the employee to leave under paragraph C1 (i) (c) or (d) above, or other circumstances beyond the employee's control. The Division Superintendent or designee may require the employee to provide a certification from a health care provider if the employee does not return to work because of reasons specified in paragraph C1 (i) (c) or (d). If the employee fails to provide the requested certification within thirty (30) calendar days of the request, the employee will be obligated to repay all health benefit premiums paid by the School Board.

G. Effective Date

This regulation was effective as of August 5, 1993.

Approved by Superintendent: January 18, 1994
Revised by Superintendent: February 4, 1998 (Retroactive to July 1, 1997)
Revised by Superintendent: October 8, 1998
Revised by Superintendent: March 8, 2006