Leave Information

The Kentucky Safety Program and the Personnel Cabinet are pleased to sponsor the Kentucky Blood Center and American Red Cross Blood drive for State employees. Because of the many uses of each blood component, each blood donor may save several lives with his or her donation. Only whole blood donations qualify the employee to take blood donation leave.

The blood donation policy is as follows:

• Because blood donation leave is granted for the purpose of allowing an employee to recuperate from donating, only regularly scheduled work hours may be used for leave and compensatory time will not be granted after hours or for donations given during the employee’s lunch break.
• Agencies are responsible for notifying their employees of the blood donation policy.
• All employees statewide are permitted to donate blood at any licensed blood center certified by the Food and Drug Administration.
• All employees are required to obtain prior supervisory approval for blood leave.
• All employees are required to submit verification to their supervisor of blood donation or deferral.
• Employees who donate shall receive four (4) hours leave time with pay for the purpose of donating and recovering from the donation. Leave time must be taken at the time of donation unless circumstances, as specified by the supervisor, require the donor to return to work. In this case, the unused portion of leave time will be credited as compensatory time.
• Employees deferred from donating shall not be charged for the time used in attempting to donate, but will not receive the four (4) hours leave time as those who donate.

If you have questions about the blood donation policy, call the Personnel Cabinet at (502)-564-6846. For questions about donating blood, call the Franklin County chapter of the American Red Cross, (502) 223-1795 or The Kentucky Blood Center, (800) 775-2522.

All employees of Kentucky state government receive paid leave time whenever they must serve as jurors or comply with a court or administrative subpoena. Court leave is not granted though if you or a member of your family is a party involved in a court action as a private matter. If you or a member of your family is a party to the case, you must use annual or compensatory leave and request to do so in advance.

It is important to remember that court leave is only for time that crosses your scheduled work hours. The time you must spend traveling to court is also included in paid court leave. However, if you are dismissed from jury duty or from serving as a witness, you must return directly to your job.

Please show a copy of any court summons to your supervisor before taking court leave, otherwise your absences may not be properly authorized.

Special leave of absence may be granted, with or without pay, for up to 24 months, with the approval of your appointing authority and the Secretary of Personnel.

If granted, leave shall be granted either with pay (if the employee contractually agrees to a service commitment) or without pay.

You will not accumulate annual leave or sick leave while on special leave with pay. If your leave is without pay, you must make arrangements through the payroll officer to continue your health and life insurance. You must pay the total premiums.

The Family Medical Leave Act is intended to balance the demands of the workplace with the needs of families, to promote the stability and economic security of families, and to promote national interests in preserving family integrity. It was intended that the Act accomplish these purposes in a manner that accommodates the legitimate interests of the employers, as well as minimize the potential for employment discrimination on the basis of sex, while promoting equal employment opportunity for men and women.

As a result of the federal FMLA, Kentucky State Government has enhanced some of your benefits as State employees. In areas where your benefits were already more generous than the federal law requires those benefits have been maintained at the higher level. The information contained in this section is a brief summary of the federal FMLA. The information presented in "yellow text" either clarifies State Government's policy or describes the enhanced benefits you receive as a State employee.

YOUR RIGHTS under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993:

EMPLOYEE ELIGIBILITY:
To be eligible for FMLA benefits, an employee must

1. have worked for Kentucky State Government for a total of at least 12 months; and
2. have worked or been on paid leave for at least 1,250 hours in the 12 months immediately preceding the first day of FML.

LEAVE ENTITLEMENT

A covered employer must grant an eligible employee up to a total of 12 workweeks of leave during any 12-month period for one or more of the following reasons:

• for the birth or placement of a child for adoption or foster care. While the federal regulations state that a combined total of twelve (12) weeks shall be granted to an eligible husband and wife who work for the same employer, Kentucky State Government grants up to 12 weeks to each parent.
• to care for an immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent or someone of similarly close blood or legal relationship who has resided with the employee for not less than thirty (30) days prior to first day of FML) with a serious health condition; or to take medical leave when the employee is unable to work because of a serious health condition.

Although the FMLA allows the employers the option to require employees to use accrued paid leave for FMLA leave, Kentucky State Government does not require that an employee’s leave for a qualifying condition be designated as FML until that employee has utilized all of his accrued sick and annual leave (with the exception that an employee may request, in writing, to retain up to 10 sick days). An employee does not have to exhaust accumulated compensatory time before requesting FML. If an employee uses paid leave for a qualifying condition, the up to 12 weeks of FML is not taken from that employee’s FML availability until the leave is designated as FML. It is important to note that an employee may request qualifying leave to be designated FML at any time (even if the employee is still using paid leave). The employer is responsible for designating if an employee’s use of paid leave counts as FMLA leave, based on information from the employee.

ADVANCE NOTICE AND MEDICAL CERTIFICATION: 
The employee may be required to provide advance leave notice and medical certification or other supporting documentation.  Request for leave may be denied if requirements are not met. 

• The employee ordinarily must provide advance notice when the leave is "foreseeable."
• An employer may require medical certification to support a request for leave because of a serious health condition, and may require second or third opinions (at the employer's expense) and a fitness for duty report to return to work.

Under certain circumstances, employees may take FMLA leave intermittently--which means taking leave in blocks of time, or by reducing their normal weekly or daily work schedule.

• If FMLA leave is for the birth or placement for adoption or foster care, use of intermittent leave is subject to the employer's approval.
• FMLA leave may be taken intermittently whenever medically necessary for a seriously ill family member, or because the employee is seriously ill and unable to work.

JOB BENEFITS AND PROTECTION:

• A covered employer is required to maintain group health insurance coverage for an employee on FMLA leave whenever such insurance was provided before the leave was taken and on the same terms as if the employee had continued to work.  As a State employee you will also have the State's share of your group life insurance provided while you are on FML.  If applicable, arrangements will need to be made for employees to pay their share of health insurance premiums while on leave.
• Upon return from FMLA leave, most employees must be restored to their original or equivalent positions with equivalent pay, benefits, and other employment terms.
• The use of FMLA leave cannot result in the loss of any employment benefit that accrued prior to the start of an employee's leave.

UNLAWFUL ACTS BY EMPLOYERS:
FMLA makes it unlawful for any employer to: 

• interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of any right provided under FMLA;
• discharge or discriminate against any person for opposing any practice made unlawful by FMLA or for involvement in any proceeding under or relating to FMLA.

ENFORCEMENT:

• The U.S. Department of Labor is authorized to investigate and resolve complaints of violations.
• An eligible employee may file an appeal with the Personnel Board.

With the exception of the enhancements listed, Kentucky State Government will follow all federal regulations and guidelines.

An active member of the United States Army Reserve, the United States Naval Reserve, the United States Air Force Reserve, the United States Marine Corps Reserve, the United States Coast Guard Reserve, the United States Public Health Service Reserve, or the Kentucky National Guard, required to serve under order or training duty shall be without loss of the regular compensation for a period not to exceed the number of working days specified in KRS 61.394, per federal fiscal year (October-September), provided your military orders require your absence from your state job. Any additional military leave time must be charged to your accumulated annual or compensatory leave balance or be charged as leave without pay. 

Your appointing authority may require you to present a copy of the military orders requiring your absence from work before granting military leave.

Any state employee who enters active military duty must be granted leave of absence without pay for the period of that duty up to six years. Although your agency and the Secretary of Personnel must grant such leave, you must request it in order to avoid being dismissed for abandonment of your job without obtaining official leave.

When you return from active duty, your employer must restore you to a job of like seniority, status, and pay under KRS Chapter 61. An employee restored from military leave is treated as though he or she was in continuous service.

Any state employee who is the spouse of an active member of the United States Army Reserve, the United States Naval Reserve, the United States Air Force Reserve, the United States Marine Corps Reserve, the United States Coast Guard Reserve, the United States Public Health Service Reserve, or the Kentucky National Guard, who is called upon to serve under Federal orders (deployment) shall be granted one day paid leave prior to deployment and one day paid leave upon return from deployment, per federal fiscal year (October-September).

Your appointing authority may require you to present a copy of your spouse's military orders prior to approving the use of this leave.

Voting leave must be requested in advance and the employee must be eligible to vote in the Kentucky county holding the election and must exercise that right in order to qualify. Agencies develop work schedules in advance that permit their employees to share the workload on Election Day while still taking leave time to go to the polls. Presidential Election Day is a state holiday. Regulatory References: 101 KAR 2:102 and101 KAR 3:015. You are allowed up to four hours to vote or to apply for an absentee ballot. In order to be eligible for voting leave, you must (1) be registered to vote in the Kentucky county holding the election, (2) be scheduled to work on Election Day during the hours of 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. local time, and (3) notify your immediate supervisor prior to receiving voting leave. Employees who are authorized to work in lieu of taking voting leave shall receive four hours of compensatory leave.