The Company is required to comply with the Federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993. This section is considered a supplemental to the employee’s rights under FMLA. The Company reserves the right to designate FMLA leave as needed to any eligible employee and to require employees to use first all available paid time off as qualifying FMLA time toward the 12 week limit. The FMLA entitles eligible employees to take up to 12 weeks of paid or unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period based on the employee’s anniversary hire date for:

• The birth or placement of a child for adoption or foster care.

• To care for an immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent) with a serious health condition.

• To take medical leave when the employee is unable to work because of his/her own serious health condition.

Eligible Employees:

To be eligible for FMLA, an employee must have worked for the Company for at least one year and have completed 1,250 hours over the 12 months prior to the commencement of the leave. The 12-month period during which an eligible employee may take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave will be calculated using the eligible employee’s service anniversary date.

Procedure:

• An eligible employee who wishes to take FMLA must provide his/her supervisor with 30 days advance notice when the leave is foreseeable. At the time of the request, the employee may complete a “Family Medical Leave Information/Request Form”. Once FMLA is requested or designated by the Company, the employee will receive an information packet containing the full policy, forms, rights and duties of the FMLA for both the employee and the Company.

• In most cases, the eligible employee must submit medical certification to support a request for leave. Health and dental benefits will continue during the FMLA provided the employee makes his/her regular, monthly contributions to the plan. Failure to pay premiums may result in lapse of coverage. Contact the Benefits Department for specific details on continuing benefits while on leave.

• Employees returning from FMLA within the 12 week period will be restored to their original job, or to an equivalent job with equivalent pay and benefits.

• Employees returning from a medical FMLA may be required to present medical certification of fitness for duty. Failure to provide a medical certificate of fitness for duty may result in a denial of job reinstatement until medical certificate release is provided.

• FMLA may be taken in increments as small as one hour.

• Employees may not earn additional paid time off while on FMLA.

Contact human resources for the complete policy on the Family and Medical Leave Act and for a full explanation of your rights. FMLA will always begin with paid time off until all available paid time is used. After exhausting paid FMLA leave, non-paid FMLA leave will continue until the conclusion of the protected 12 week time limit. Following the conclusion of protected leave, the employer will decide whether non-FMLA leave should apply.

The medical Certification of Health Care Provider serves as a "doctor note" to certify the reason and expected duration of the extended medical leave in writing. All requests for medical leaves must be accompanied by a doctor’s statement verifying your total disability and your estimated date of return to work. Further, the Company requires written medical verification of your ability to resume work and a list of restrictions that would directly relate to your ability to perform your job.

NON-FMLA Qualifying Leave
In certain cases a leave of absence will not qualify as FMLA protected. In these cases, an employee may be granted up to three months of non-paid leave without benefits for full-time employees who have completed at least 12 months of uninterrupted service and 1250 hours of service with the Company. Employees will not be entitled to collect unemployment during this time. Requests for personal leaves, other than for Family Medical Leave, will be approved only for compelling reasons. Each request is considered separately and approval is at the sole discretion of the Company. All available vacation time will be paid out upon a non-FMLA leave as though the employee had resigned.