Board passes Paid Family Medical Leave Insurance policy

ONTARIO — The Ontario School Board gathered for the monthly school board meeting on Sept. 25 to discuss a wide variety of topics, including the Policy GCBDF/GDBDF-AR — Paid Family Medical Leave Insurance.

In accordance with the Oregon Family Leave Act, employers who have more than 25 employees will fall under the Family Leave Act, which means that the employees are allowed by law to take protected time off to take care of [themselves] or family members," according to information on oregon.gov.

As a result, the Ontario School District falls under that category, and discussed a policy to be put in place, which involves paid medical leave insurance for employees.

"An employee applies and is approved for PFML for a personal serious medical condition. American Fidelity determines that the rate of pay will be 75% of the employee's regular salary. The employee will be allowed to use available district-provided paid leave (sick, personal, vacation or otherwise) for days that PFML is received, but is limited to only utilizing an amount that increases the employee paid leave to 100% of regular payment. In this example, the amount would be 25%," according to language in the policy.

The district will be using American Fidelity to administer the paid-leave benefits required by Paid Oregon Leave in which they will make all the decisions regarding the acceptance or denial of an employee's claim, including determining the amount of benefits the employee will receive — the district cannot accept, file, process or make decisions on claims, according to the policy language. However, an employee can appeal an approval or denial of a claim.

Foreseeable or unforeseeable

If the leave is foreseeable, the policy states that the employee needs to provide the district with a written notice that requires various information 30 days in advance, whereas if it is an unforeseen circumstance, the employee must give oral notice within 24 hours of starting the leave, along with a written notice within three days after the start of the leave — exceptions may be granted when the applicant can demonstrate good cause for late submission, according to the policy.

The policy also states that the written notice includes, but is not limited to, handwritten or typed notices, and electronic communication such as email.

Return to Work

According to the policy, the employee is entitled to return to their position upon completion of the leave, if that position still exists, and if the staff member had been employed for 90 days prior to the start of the leave.

If the position no longer exists, the employee is entitled to a position equal to their previous position, with equal benefits, pay and other terms and conditions of employment whether it be foreseeable or unforeseeable circumstances.

The District and American Fidelity

After receiving a claim or update in information regarding a district employee's medical leave, American Fidelity will notify the district. The school district then has the opportunity to provide additional information up to 10 days following the notice.

"This information may include, but is not limited to, information about the employee's notice to the district or verification of the employee's continued employment with the district. If the district does not report such information to American Fidelity, American Fidelity will proceed using available information. The district can provide additional information to American Fidelity as it becomes available," according to the policy.

Once American Fidelity has made a decision regarding a claim, they will notify the district with the approval or denial, along with any applicable dates and periods of leave.

Although the employee has the opportunity to appeal a claim, it is noteworthy to mention that the district cannot appeal an American Fidelity decision.

Employee Protection

The policy states that no employees, or prospective employees, will be discriminated or retaliated against as a result of submitting a notice for, or taking, paid family medical leave, along with receiving paid medical leave benefits.

The policy was unanimously passed during the September meeting.