Page | 60 third opinion. If necessary, to resolve a conflict between the original certification and the second opinion, the City will require the opinion of a third doctor. The City and the employee will mutually select the third doctor, and the City will pay for the opinion. This third opinion will be considered final. The employee will be provisionally entitled to leave and benefits under the FMLA pending the second and/or third opinion. Certification of Qualifying Exigency for Military Family Leave – The City will require certification of the qualifying exigency for military family leave. The employee must respond to such a request within 15 days of the request or provide a reasonable explanation for the delay. Failure to provide certification may result in a denial of continuation of leave. This certification will be provided using the DOL Certification of Qualifying Exigency for Military Family Leave (form: WH-384). Certification for Serious Injury or Illness of Covered Service member for Military Family Leave – The City will require certification for the serious injury or illness of the covered service member. The employee must respond to such a request within 15 days of the request or provide a reasonable explanation for the delay. Failure to provide certification may result in a denial of continuation of leave. This certification will be provided using the DOL Certification for Serious Injury or Illness of Covered Service member (form: WH-385). Recertification – The City may request recertification for the serious health condition of the employee or the employee’s family member no more frequently than every 30 days and only when circumstances have changed significantly, or if the employee receives information casting doubt on the reason given for the absence, or if the employee seeks an extension of his or her leave. Otherwise, the City may request recertification for the serious health condition of the employee or the employee’s family member every six months in connection with an FMLA absence. The City may provide the employee’s health care provider with the employee’s attendance records and ask whether need for leave is consistent with the employee’s serious health condition. Leave Allowance & Administration – An eligible employee is entitled to a maximum of twelve (12) workweeks of leave in a rolling 12-month period from the date the employee's first FMLA leave began. Each time an employee takes leave, the City will compute the amount of leave the employee has taken under this policy and subtract it from the 12 weeks of available leave, and the balance remaining is the amount the employee is entitled to take at that time. Scheduling of Leaves – Leave taken to care for a child after birth, adoption or placement for foster care must be taken on a continuous basis and must be taken within twelve (12) months of the birth or placement of the child. If a husband and wife both work for the City and each wishes to take leave for the birth of a child, adoption or placement of a child in foster care or to care for a parent (but not a parent "in-law") with a serious health condition, the husband and wife may only take a combined total of 12 weeks of leave. However, if the husband and wife use a portion of the total 12-week FMLA leave for one of the above FMLA purposes, they would each be entitled to leave for other FMLA purposes. For example, if a husband and wife took 6 weeks of leave for the birth of a child, each could later use an additional 6 weeks due to a personal illness or to care for a sick child. The employee may use FMLA leave intermittently (take a day periodically when needed over the year) or, under certain circumstances, may use the leave to reduce the workweek or workday, resulting in a reduced hour schedule. In all cases, the leave may not exceed a total of 12 workweeks (or 26 workweeks to care for an injured or ill service member over a 12-month period). In such cases, the City may temporarily transfer an employee to an available alternative position with equivalent pay and benefits if the alternative position would better accommodate the intermittent or reduced schedule. Compensation and Benefits – All City benefits that operate on an accrual basis (vacation leave and sick leave) will continue to accrue during FMLA leave provided the employee remains in active pay status. Employees are required to use available paid leave benefits (sick, vacation and floating holidays) while absent on FMLA Leave. Once all accrued paid leave benefits have been exhausted, the balance of the leave will be unpaid, and the employee will cease to accrue additional paid leave benefits until they return to active pay status.
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