Military Caregiver Leave

Questions? Contact Shared Services

Overview

Military caregiver leave is provided to eligible employees to care for a family member who is a covered servicemember undergoing medical treatment, recuperation or therapy for a serious injury or illness.

Criteria for military caregiver leave

An eligible employee may take military caregiver leave to care for a spouse, domestic partner, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin who is a covered servicemember undergoing medical treatment, recuperation or therapy for a serious injury or illness.

Job protections and pay options

Job protections 

  • Military caregiver leave is covered under FMLA.
  • An eligible employee is entitled to up to 26 workweeks of military caregiver leave during a single 12-month leave period. For purposes of this type of family and medical leave only, a single 12-month leave period is the period beginning the first day an employee takes leave to care for the covered servicemember and ends 12 months after that date.

Pay options

  • FMLA is not paid; however, Paid Family Care and Bonding (PFCB) will provide a pay option allowing eligible UC employees to elect to use income replacement, calculated at 70% of eligible earnings, for up to eight workweeks while unable to work during an FMLA qualifying leave.
  • FMLA and/or PFCB may be taken intermittently, and are most often taken in increments of at least two weeks each.
  • Accrued vacation, paid time off (if applicable), and/or compensatory time off can be taken in place of unpaid time off; please see relevant policies below.

Provisions

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal law that provides eligible employees with unpaid, job-protected leave for specific qualifying family and medical leave reasons.

Eligible employees may take up to 26 workweeks of military caregiver leave during a single 12-month leave period. For purposes of this type of FML only, a single 12-month leave period is the period beginning the first day an employee takes leave to care for the covered servicemember and ends 12 months after that date.

In general, to be eligible for FMLA, you must meet the following eligibility criteria:

  • Must have 12 cumulative months of UC employment and
  • Must have worked at least 1,250 productive hours immediately preceding the 12 months before your FMLA leave starts. Productive hours do not include time away used for vacation/PTO, sick/extended sick time, and compensatory time off.

Pay for Family Care and Bonding (PFCB) is a pay option for eligible employees to receive up to 70% of their eligible earnings for up to eight workweeks per calendar year for leaves taken under the FMLA and/or CFRA for one of the following reasons:

  • Parental bonding
  • To care for a family member with a serious health condition
  • Military caregiver leave
  • Qualifying exigency leave

Steps for taking military caregiver leave

Step1

Review steps for taking a leave

Review Taking a Leave of Absence on UCnet to review your rights and available options.

Step2

Inform your manager

Inform your manager about your prospective leave, including your anticipated dates out of the office, as far in advance as possible.

Step3

Submit your request

Submit your leave of absence request via HR Umbrella, using your personal email address. Once submitted, your leave specialist will partner with you to:

  • Confirm your eligibility under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
  • Complete necessary documentation which will guide you through the process and is required in order to certify your leave. This may include:
    • Certification for military caregiver leave
  • Determine the dates you will be on paid and unpaid status, along with options and your obligations while on unpaid status.
    • Review your options for covered pay with your leave specialist.
      • Use of accrued leave is guided by your policy or collective bargaining agreement, related to the type of leave you are taking.
      • You may also have eligibility for Pay for Family Care and Bonding (PFCB) if you are on a qualifying leave to bond with a child or care for a family member. In the HR Umbrella leave request, indicate whether you would like to use Pay for Family Care and Bonding (PFCB) and the date on which you would like the pay option to begin.
    • If you are on unpaid status, personal payments must be submitted to continue your benefits coverage. You will receive a Benefits Billing Election Form from the Leave Management team.
HR Umbrella

Step4

Confirm your return-to-work date

As early as possible, contact your supervisor and the appropriate leaves contact to confirm your return-to-work date:

Ensure mandatory department compliance is completed. Talk with your immediate supervisor or manager. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are compliant with UC COVID-19 policy as well as any other required immunization and health screenings before returning to work. All relevant UC COVID-19 policy information, FAQs, and forms are under UC's COVID-19 vaccination policy. If you will not return to work as expected, you must submit timely documentation to us outlining the additional leave period requested. Please provide the documentation before your expected return-to-work date.

Step5

Return to work

Upon your return to work, you should:

  • Contact Campus Life Services to reinstate any voluntary deductions, such as parking, pre-tax transit, gym, vanpool, etc.
  • Take the following actions in UCPath:
    • Submit your benefit enrollment forms or enroll online to reinstate benefit coverage.
    • Review your benefit enrollments and benefits Ssmmary within 31 days after your return. 
    • Review your first several earnings statements to ensure they are correct.
UC Path