By: Deacon Mel Stasinski, HR Field Representative for Vicariate V and VI

All of us from time to time suffer an illness or injury that prevents us from going to work. Most of the time they are not too serious and within a day or two we are back to our normal work schedules. There are occasions, however, when an injury or illness is more debilitating, preventing us from going to work for an extended period of time. If you ever find yourself in that situation, and you expect your absence to continue for ten or more consecutive days, you should contact your supervisor and ask about applying for a Family Medical Leave. The Archdiocese provides for such a leave for up to six months. It can be granted for your own illness or injury, or that of an immediate family member who needs your care. It is an unpaid leave, but you may use available vacation and personal days while on it. You can also use available sick days provided that the reason you were not at work on that day would normally qualify you to take a sick day. You should apply for a Family Medical Leave even if you are absent due to job related injury or illness and are receiving Workers Compensation benefits. Those employees who are planning to take maternity leave should also apply for a Family Medical Leave.

The process of applying for Family Medical Leave is not as daunting as many people think. If you have been employed with the Archdiocese for at least one full year, and worked at least 1,250 hours in the previous year, you are eligible. The first step is to give your supervisor a completed Archdiocese of Chicago FMLA application form. That form can be found under the “Administrators” tab on the Human Resources web site. The other FMLA forms can be found there as well. You must also have your health care provider certify your health condition. If you are applying for the leave so that you can take care of an immediate family member, then the health care provider must not only certify the health condition of that family member, but also report on your need and role in caring for that person. The physician must also provide certain other information and indicate the anticipated length of the leave.