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Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

The Federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Wisconsin Family and Medical Leave Act (WFMLA) provide you with the right to take job-protected leave with continued medical benefits when you need time off from work to care for yourself or a family member who is seriously ill, to care for a newborn or newly adopted child, or to attend to the affairs of a family member who is called to covered active duty in the military.

For eligibility purposes, all State of Wisconsin employers, including the Universities of Wisconsin, are considered one employer.

FMLA:
  • You must have worked for the state for at least 12 months (need not be consecutive)
  • You must have worked for the state for at least 1,250 hours of service during the 12-month period preceding the beginning of the leave.  Count only actual hours worked.
WFMLA:
  • You must have worked for the state for more than 52 consecutive weeks.
  • You must have worked for the state for at least 1,000 hours during the 52-week period preceding beginning of the leave.  You may include vacation, sick leave and other paid leave taken to count to the minimum 1,000 hours.

All leave entitlements, except FMLA leave to provide care for an injured or ill military service member which is based upon a single 12-month period, are based on a calendar-year basis.

FMLA: You are allowed up to 12 workweeks of leave in a 12-month period of unpaid, job-protected leave with continued medical benefits for any combination of following reasons:

  • To care for your child* after birth, adoption, or foster care placement - the leave must conclude within 12 months of the event.
  • To care for your spouse, child*, or parent who has a serious health condition.
  • To seek treatment for your serious health condition.
  • For any qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that a spouse, son, daughter, or parent is a military member on covered active duty or call to covered active duty status.

WFMLA:  You are allowed up to ten workweeks per year of unpaid job-protected leave with continued medical benefits as follows:

  • Up to six weeks of unpaid leave for the birth or adoption of a child*, to begin within 16 weeks of the birth or placement of that child. No more than one six-week period per child.
  • Up to two weeks of unpaid leave for the care of a child*, spouse, domestic partner, or parent with a serious health condition.
  • Up to two weeks of unpaid leave in a 12-month period for your own serious health condition that makes you unable to perform your duties.

*A child is a son or daughter who is a biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward, or a child of a person standing in loco parentis to the child.

To take FMLA/WFMLA leave, you must provide the University with appropriate notice.  If you know in advance that you will need FMLA/WFMLA leave (for example, if you are planning to have surgery or you are pregnant), you must give the University at least 30 days' advance notice.  If you learn of your need for leave less than 30 days in advance, you must give the University notice as soon as you can (generally either the day you learn of the need or the next work day).  When you need FMLA/WFMLA leave unexpectedly (for example, if a family member is injured in an accident), you must inform the University as soon as you can.  You must follow your department's usual notice of call-in procedures unless you are unable to do so (for example, if you are receiving emergency medical care).

To request FMLA/WFMLA leave, contact the Office of Human Resources at 920-465-2390 or via email at hr@uwgb.edu,  Human Resources will then provide you with the necessary paperwork to complete in order to certify your leave. 

Effective July 1, 2024, the UW System Paid Parental Leave Policy provides eligible employees with up to six weeks (240 hours) of paid time off within a 12-month period following a qualifying birth or adoptive event. The leave time granted under the Paid Parental Leave policy allows the employee time to bond with their new child, adjust to their family situation, and balance personal obligations that result from a birth or adoptive event. Paid Parental Leave may be used in conjunction with other forms of paid or unpaid time off.  Paid Parental Leave runs concurrently with FMLA and/or WFMLA leave. 

To apply, complete and submit the Paid Parental Leave Request to the Office of Human Resources at hr@uwgb.edu.