Planning time away from work
Submitting a leave of absence request
Our leave of absence partner, The Hartford, recommends submitting your leave of absence request 30 days before your due date. To begin the process, call The Hartford at 866-315-0809 (reference policy 675446) and have the following information ready:
- Your name, address and other key identification information
- The name of your department and the date of your anticipated last full day of work
- The nature of your leave request
- Your treating physician’s name, address, phone number and fax number
Within five business days of initiating a leave request, The Hartford will mail an eligibility packet to your provided home address. When you receive the packet, review all the documents and confirm the deadline for returning your medical forms. All documentation related to a leave of absence should be sent directly to The Hartford, not to your manager. While your leave of absence claim is being processed, the status of the claim will be pending until your due date. Your manager will receive notification of your pending claim from The Hartford. After filing your claim, you should discuss your plans for a leave of absence with your manager.
Types of leaves
Employer Pregnancy Leave
Employees are eligible for up to six weeks of unpaid leave for medical care for yourself related to pregnancy, childbirth, miscarriage, abortion and recovery from such conditions. You do not have to be FMLA-eligible for this leave. This leave also can be used before giving birth for any pregnancy-related complications.
Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
In addition to your six weeks of unpaid Employer Pregnancy Leave, you may qualify for six additional weeks of unpaid leave through FMLA. To qualify you must have been employed for 12 months and worked at least 1,250 hours in those 12 months, from the time of the start of your leave.
Short-term Disability
In the event of a short-term disability (STD), you have financial protection paid for by the health system. Our Basic STD policy pays a percentage of your weekly income for up to 6 months while you are out of work after a nonwork-related accident, pregnancy or illness.
- You are automatically enrolled in Basic STD coverage at no cost to you.
- Employees must maintain at least 0.5 FTE for 6 months before being eligible for STD benefits.
- While on Employer Pregnancy Leave and/or FMLA leave, you are eligible for six weeks of STD leave following a vaginal birth and eight weeks following a Cesarean delivery.
You can choose more STD coverage with the Buy-up STD plan that’s paid by both you and the health system. You must enroll in this plan either during your initial eligibility period or during annual benefits enrollment each year. You must provide evidence of insurability (EOI) if you did not choose this coverage during your initial eligibility period. A pre-existing condition, including pregnancy, could result in a denial for the buy-up benefit. The buy-up benefit does not require EOI during your initial eligibility period.
Basic short-term disability | Buy-up short-term disability | |
Benefits percentage | 40% of weekly base earnings* | 66 2/3% of weekly base earnings* |
Maximum weekly benefit | Up to $1,500 | Up to $2,500 |
Employee cost | $0 | Premium based on weekly earnings. To know your cost, starting Oct. 10 go to KansasHealthSystemBenefits.com and click “Enroll Now.” |
*Taxed when paid to employee (applies to first 40% of buy-up option as well)
Long-term Disability
The health system provides long-term disability (LTD) at no cost to you for long-term covered injury or illness. The LTD policy pays a monthly benefit for eligible employees, providing income protection after 6 months of a covered short-term disability.
Long-term disability | |
Benefits Percentage | 60% of base earnings |
Maximum Monthly Benefit | $15,000 |
Using paid time off (PTO)
While you are out on a continuous leave of absence, our Human Resources team will automatically pull and use any paid time off (PTO) that you have. If you qualify for short-term disability, your PTO will be adjusted to account for the short-term disability benefit. If you do not want to use your PTO while out on leave, you must email AskHR@kumc.edu before the date your PTO would be used.
The health system does require you to use your available Extended Illness Reserve (EIR) bank during your FMLA leave (continuous leave only), unless otherwise prohibited by state law. Any EIR taken for this reason will be designated as FMLA leave and counted toward the total amount of FMLA leave you have available to use in the applicable 12-month period.
Workplace accommodations
Under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), employers are required to reasonably accommodate a candidate’s or employee’s limitations related to their pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, provided it does not impose an undue hardship on the organization. If you need to request PWFA accommodation, please contact the HR Support Center at 913-945-6500 or AskHR@kumc.edu. A Leave Consultant will work with you to understand your limitations and accommodation needs.
During your leave
Focus on your rest, recovery and family. You should not work while on leave. Your Leave Consultant and a representative from The Hartford may be in contact with you regarding your leave during this time.
Returning to work
Before returning to work, you will need to complete a Return to Work form. This form will indicate whether you have any restrictions upon coming back to work or if you are fully cleared to return. Return this form to our Occupational Health team prior to your return.
