Holidays & Leave

Family Medical Leave (FML) - Unum

 

Family Medical Leave (FML) is managed by Unum. It is available to all employees - including temporary and student employees - pending the eligibility and hours worked requirements are met. To confirm your eligibility, please review the information in the dropdown "How do I apply for FML? What are the due dates/timelines?"

FAQs

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FML Process Guide

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Telephone: 866-779-1054 | Fax: 800-447-2498
Monday-Friday | 4:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Alaskan

Unpaid job protected leave
Family Medical Leave (FML) is unpaid job protected leave available to eligible employees who are experiencing a qualifying event, such as - 

  • When you are unable to work due to illness, injury or pregnancy.
  • When you need to be absent from work to care for a family member who has a serious health condition.
  • When you need to care for a child due to birth, adoption or foster care placement.
  • When you need to be absent from work for a qualifying exigency leave because your spouse, son, daughter or parent is on covered active duty (or has been notified of an impending call or order to covered active duty) in the Armed Forces.
  • When you need to care for your spouse, child, parent or next of kin undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy, is in outpatient status, or is on the temporary disability retired list for a serious illness or injury incurred or aggravated in the line of duty on active duty in the Armed Forces (includes the National Guard or Reserves). This includes a veteran who was discharged from the Armed Forces for reasons other than dishonorable within the 5 year period before the employee’s first day of leave.
  • When you need any other type of leave that may be covered by applicable state leave laws.
  • Thirty days before a planned leave based prescheduled medical treatment related to a serious health condition for you or your family member, or the expected birth, adoption or foster care placement of a child.

Requirement to use ÐÓ°É´«Ã½ paid leaves
While FML in unpaid, the university requires that employees use their paid leaves while on approved FML. To do so, employees must use their sick leave (earnings code 550) when they are absent for FML. If sick leave exhausts, employees must still use the 550 earnings code. This code will then cascade automatically to annual leave, faculty time off, and personal holiday. 

Unum - FMLA experts
The University of Alaska has partnered with Unum to provide all FML services for university employees. Unum has a dedicated team of specialists who are able to provide expert attention and compliance for our employees.

Job protection while out on approved leave
FML provides unpaid job protected leave should you need to be absent from work for a serious health condition or to care for an immediate family member with a serious health condition. 

Required to use FML if eligible, approved, and entitlement is available
You cannot save your FML for specific events you are expecting in the future. You also cannot save your FML and use it only after all your paid leaves have exhausted. If you are experiencing an FML event, it is ÐÓ°É´«Ã½'s responsibility to ensure that employees are provided with an eligibility notice and instructions on how to apply. Please reach out to Unum as soon as you believe you are experiencing an event.

​Review the information below to understand how to apply for FML and when items may be due. A supervisor or HR Coordinator can reach out to the Benefits team at ua-hr-leaves@alaska.edu to request an FMLA be initiated for an employee who is unable to do so themselves. 

Applying for FML | To Unum and your supervisor at least 30 days in advance (where possible)
There are two steps to requesting your FML:

  1. Notify your supervisor of your absence from work. 
  2. Submit your leave request to Unum.​

It is the employees responsibility to communicate timely with their supervisor on their anticipated FML.

Effective July 1, 2024, employees will be required to initiate any applicable family and medical leave requests with Unum within 30 days of the start of their leave. 

To submit your leave request to Unum, you may either reach out to them...

  • via telephone at 866-779-1054 or
  • via the Unum website at and follow claim submission instructions

When submitting your leave request to Unum, please be prepared with:

  • Name of the company where you work
  • Your name and Social Security Number or employee ID number
  • Complete address and phone number
  • Date of birth
  • Marital status
  • Occupation (or job title)
  • Supervisor’s name and telephone number

Eligibility Notice | From Unum within 2 business days of your request
After you apply for FML, Unum will send you the eligibility notice within 2 business days of your request. This will outline if you are eligible for FML but does not approve the leave.

If you are eligible for FML, Unum will provide a medical certification with your eligibility notice that will need to be completed. The medical certification is what allows a determination to be made on approving or denying the FML event. 

Being eligible for FML is not the same as being approved for FML. Be sure to reach step 3 carefully if you are eligible.

Medical Certification | Due to Unum 15 days after the leave request is filed
In all cases except natural childbirth, a doctor must certify the event. This doctor's certification is due within 15 days from the date the leave is filed with Unum. This is where Unum reviews the leave for approval of the event.

Additional Information | Additional time provided for corrections
In some cases, Unum will request additional information if a certification is incomplete. If this is the case, the employee will receive a letter with a new due date and the information that is needed to present a complete certification.

Medical certification is not received
If no medical certification is received, the leave will be closed and you will not be on approved FML. A medical certification is required.

Approval Notice | From Unum within 5 business days of receipt of complete medical certification
After reviewing the medical certification, Unum will provide employees with an approval or denial notice. If approved, this notice will outline the absences expected (i.e. continuous, intermittent), how many hours remain of the FML entitlement, and when the return to work date is (if known).

Step 1: Record FML leave on time sheets
As noted in the "What is Family Medical Leave (FML)?" drop down menu above, employees are required to use their sick leave (earnings code 550) on their ÐÓ°É´«Ã½Online time sheet when they are out on FML. If sick leave exhausts, continue to use the sick leave code for all your FML absences. Sick leave will automatically cascade into annual leave, faculty time off, personal holiday, and then leave without pay or leave share (if eligible).

All FML absence should be reported on your time sheet as sick leave (earnings code 550).

FML time must be recorded with both ÐÓ°É´«Ã½ and with Unum.

Step 2: Record FML leave with Unum
Employees on approved FML must report their FML hours to Unum. If hours are not reported to Unum, they will not be considered protected under the FMLA. Time can be recorded with Unum in 3 ways - 

  • Unum phone number 866-779-1054

FML time must be recorded with both ÐÓ°É´«Ã½ and with Unum.

Effective July 1, 2024, employees will be required to report any family and medical leave absences with Unum within 30 days of the absence. 

There are a few options for salary continuation. You may be eligible for more than one option depending on your circumstances/event.​

While FML in unpaid, the university requires that employees use their paid leaves while on approved FML. To do so, employees must use their sick leave (earnings code 550) when they are absent for FML. If sick leave exhausts, employees must still use the 550 earnings code. This code will then cascade automatically to annual leave, faculty time off, and personal holiday. 

60% pay
STD may be an option if you are out for your own serious health condition. STD replaces 60% of your income, up to $800 per week, for a maximum of 11 weeks. Payment comes directly from Unum. 

Elimination Period
STD requires that you experience 2 weeks of absence (paid or unpaid) before benefits begin. This is called the elimination period.

Apply for STD
To see if you are eligible for STD, please call Unum. You can also review additional details on our STD webpage.

Donated sick leave
Leave share allows you to receive donated sick leave hours while you are on an approved FML. This is not available for pregnancy/childbirth or for employees who are eligible for STD. 

Exhaustion of leave
Employees must exhaust all their own paid leave and experience 2 weeks of leave without pay directly related to the FML event to begin receiving donations from Leave Share.

Apply for Leave Share
Review the Leave Share website to see if you are eligible and complete the form to apply. 

Please review our leave breakdown webpage which outlines all the possible leaves available to ÐÓ°É´«Ã½ employees. If you have questions, please email ua-hr-leaves@alaska.edu.

There are a few options for returning to work depending on your circumstance. Please review the information below and email ua-hr-leaves@alaska.edu if you have any questions or concerns about returning to work after your leave has completed. 

Reach out to your supervisor and Unum regarding your return to work schedule.

Unum and LTD
Please reach out to Unum for next steps. You may be eligible for Long-term Disability (LTD).

ÐÓ°É´«Ã½ and ADA or a LOA
You will also want to reach out to ua-hr-leaves@alaska.edu to discuss the possibility of an American's with Disabilities Act (ADA) accommodation or a Leave of Absence (LOA). A leave of absence requires official approval from campus leadership).

Unum will use data from University of Alaska (ÐÓ°É´«Ã½) employees for the following three (3) purposes: 

(1) provide the leave services;

(2) provide any other products/services that the university purchases (this includes Long-term Disability); and

(3) use aggregate and de-identified data for reporting, analysis, and internal product and user interface improvement.

The contract between ÐÓ°É´«Ã½ and Unum controls the collection of employee’s personal information. Our contract does not permit Unum to use any employer data (which includes information collected about employees) for any purpose other than performing the services obtained under the contract.

Unum’s general online privacy is meant to be the broadest umbrella of rights and restrictions regarding data collection and use. 

ÐÓ°É´«Ã½â€™s contract with Unum contains more restrictive provisions on the collection and use of employer data and prohibits the selling/sharing of information for any purpose other than performing the services obtained under ÐÓ°É´«Ã½â€™s contract. 

ÐÓ°É´«Ã½â€™s contract supersedes Unum’s general online privacy statement and terms and conditions. 

Additionally, if another policy (i.e. GLBA/HIPAA) has provisions on data collection and/or use, these provisions supersede Unum’s general online privacy policy. 

For example:

  1. Individual A is not affiliated with ÐÓ°É´«Ã½. They visit Unum’s website and enter information in a web form to sign up for a mailing list on new products. Individual A’s information would be subject to Unum’s general online privacy policy.

  2. Individual B is a ÐÓ°É´«Ã½ employee. The contract between ÐÓ°É´«Ã½ and Unum prohibits selling/sharing information for any other purpose other than performing the services obtained under ÐÓ°É´«Ã½â€™s contract. Individual B uses the online portal to file a claim. Since ÐÓ°É´«Ã½â€™s contract contains more restrictive provisions regarding the collection and use of employer data, those provisions will control Individual B’s data.  

Unum is prohibited from using any ÐÓ°É´«Ã½ employee’s personal information outside of the following:

“Unum use of information. During and after the Term, Unum has the right to possess and use Employer Data for purposes related to its rights and obligations under this Agreement and for purposes of administering benefits for the Employer under any other Lines of Coverage.â€

This means that Unum uses personal information for the purposes of administering leave services detailed in the agreement between ÐÓ°É´«Ã½ and Unum. As part of its integrated services, Unum can also share personal information with other lines of coverage that ÐÓ°É´«Ã½ has contracted through Unum. For ÐÓ°É´«Ã½ that means data is visible across Unum’s ADA, FML, and LTD cases for ÐÓ°É´«Ã½ employees as ÐÓ°É´«Ã½ has contracted with Unum for all of these services. 

“Use of non-identifiable information. Unum has the right to use any information received in the course of performing the Services, whether from Employer, an Employee, or any other source, that does not identify and cannot be used to identify, directly or indirectly, Employer or any Employee for data compilations and reports, including statistical reports, cost containment analyses and claim studies.â€

This means that Unum uses non-identifiable information for reports to the Department of Labor (DOL) and other state agencies. Importantly, the reports do not have names of any employees or lists ÐÓ°É´«Ã½ as the employer.

“Employee rights under applicable laws and regulations. Unum shall comply with all applicable laws and regulations regarding an Employee's rights regarding Personal Information. If Unum receives a request from an Employee regarding the Employee's rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act CCPA) or any analogous state privacy law, Unum will direct the Employee to submit the request directly to the Employer.â€

This means that Unum is required to comply with all applicable privacy laws.

 

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