QUESTIONS & ANSWERS FOR MANAGERS/SUPERVISORS

STD is salary continuation during a continuous absence for one’s own condition. It is provided to UChicago Medicine employees at no cost to them.

STD benefits are available to all benefit-eligible employees who have completed their probationary period and are scheduled to work 20 hours or more a week. Employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement should refer to their respective union contract for details.

UChicago Medicine wants to ensure it fully complies with employee rights under the Family Medical Leave Act. Therefore, when an employee expects to miss three or more calendar workdays due to sickness, pregnancy, injury or an absence that may be covered by FML, the employee should call Sedgwick at 1-855-311-9661 as soon as possible. (See below for more details regarding requesting and reporting a leave.)

You’ll need to provide the following information:

• Employee name, address, phone number, Social Security number and job title.
• Employee work address, hire date, and supervisor’s name and phone number.
• The last day the employee worked, nature of the absence, date the disability began and anticipated return-to-work date.
• If applicable, the name, address, phone and fax numbers of treating health care provider(s) and an authorization to release the requesting employee’s medical information to Sedgwick.

An information packet will be sent to the employee from Sedgwick based on the type of leave he/she requests. After the employee returns the completed forms, Sedgwick will send approval (or denial) to the employee and their manager/supervisor (viewable at ucmleave.uchospitals.edu).

The employee will receive an approval letter and a form called the Medical Return to Work Release. For any leave due to the employee’s own serious health condition that results in the employee being off work for more than three consecutive workdays, the employee will need to have a physician or other health care provider complete the Medical Return to Work Release.

Managers/supervisors will receive updates and notifications through Sedgwick’s secure web portal at ucmleave.uchospitals.edu, as well as email notifications through their UChicago Medicine email account.

It depends on the type of leave:

• Continuous LeaveLeave taken for consecutive days through the entire period between the leave begin and leave end dates: Employees don’t have to continue to follow departmental call-off procedures once their continuous leave has been approved.
• Intermittent LeaveLeave taken in intervals between the leave begin and leave end dates, where the employee is expected to work except when unable to work due to the leave: If an employee’s leave is approved for intermittent absences, including tardies, the employee must continue to follow departmental call-off procedures for any unscheduled absence AND call Sedgwick at 1‑855‑311‑9661. Remember: Employees on intermittent leave must call Sedgwick within two business days of their absence or their request may be denied.

Employees should contact their department two weeks prior to their expected return-to-work date to be placed on the schedule. If the employee’s return-to-work date is sooner or later than expected, the employee must contact his/her department and Sedgwick as soon as the employee knows his/her return-to-work date.

If an employee’s leave lasts five or more consecutive scheduled workdays, the employee should provide a release from their physician to HR Shared Services prior to returning to work. If an employee is returning with restrictions, the employee must be cleared by Occupational Health Services before he/she can return to work. Managers/supervisors are NOT to allow employees who missed five or more scheduled workdays to return to work without first being notified by HR Shared Services that they have been cleared. Refer to HR501(D) Return to Work After an Extended Absence for more details regarding the return-to-work process.

If an employee’s actual return-to-work date is different from what the employee originally reported to Sedgwick, the employee’s accruals (sick and vacation), as well as use of FML days (depending on the type of leave), could be affected. As a result, the employee may not be accruing vacation and sick days as he/she should, and/or the employee might use more FML than needed.

Note: Exempt (salaried) employees who fail to report their actual return-to-work date will not be paid until that date is confirmed with Sedgwick.

Employees should contact their supervisor AND Sedgwick at 1‑855-311-9661

If an employee is injured at work, the employee should report the injury immediately to his/her supervisor, and then call the University of Chicago Medical Center Injury Reporting Line (S1 Medical) at 1‑877-441-3845.

No, FMLA is not a leave of absence policy for all types of employee absences. It does not cover routine doctor appointments or minor illnesses not requiring physician treatment (unless part of an approved intermittent leaveLeave taken in intervals between the leave begin and leave end dates, where the employee is expected to work except when unable to work due to the leave).

A serious health condition is an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves:

• Any period of incapacity or treatment connected with inpatient care (i.e., an overnight stay) in a hospital, hospice or residential medical care facility; or
• A period of incapacity requiring absence of more than three calendar days from work, school or other regular daily activities that also involves continuing treatment by (or under the supervision of) a health care provider; or
• Any period of incapacity due to pregnancy, or for prenatal care; or
• Any period of incapacity (or treatment therefore) due to a serious chronic health condition (e.g., asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, etc.); or
• A period of incapacity that is permanent or long-term due to a condition for which treatment may not be effective (e.g., Alzheimer’s, stroke, terminal diseases, etc.); or
• Any absences to receive multiple treatments (including any period of recovery) by, or on referral by, a health care provider for a condition that likely would result in incapacity of more than three consecutive days if left untreated (e.g., chemotherapy, physical therapy, dialysis, etc.).

Call Sedgwick at 1-855-311-9661 or visit ucmleave.uchospitals.edu.

If an employee’s leave under FML only is approved and the absence is not for the employee’s own medical condition, the employee may be paid personal holiday, vacation or family sick hours during his/her leave before the employee goes on unpaid leave.

If the leave is for the employee’s own serious health condition, the employee will be required to exhaust accrued sick time, then personal holiday, and then vacation time before going on unpaid leave.

Note: For positions that fall under a collective bargaining agreement, employees should refer to their union contract for details on how pay and benefits are affected while on STD leave.

As long as the employee is receiving accrued hours or STD payments, payroll checks will continue to be processed according to the employee’s payroll schedule. Scheduled deductions (taxes, benefit plan deductions, etc.) will continue to be withheld.

If an employee is paid on an hourly basis, his/her manager or designated timekeeper must continue to enter the employee’s accrued hours into the Kronos system until the employee’s leave is approved.

If the employee is exempt (salaried), the employee or department manager must enter accrued hours into Kronos. Accrued hours must be used in the following order: sick, personal holiday and then vacation. If the employee is unable to access Kronos from home, the employee should contact his/her department manager for assistance. It is highly recommended that any time off prior to the start of medical leave be entered into Kronos.

Whether the employee is paid hourly or is exempt, once on an approved leave, the Leave Administration, Absence Management and Accommodations Department will enter the time into Kronos. Once the employee has used all accrued hours, STD payments will automatically be entered into Kronos for payment throughout the approved STD benefit period.

Note: For positions that fall under a collective bargaining agreement, employees should refer to their union contract for details on how pay and benefits are affected while on STD leave.

If the employee’s claim for STD was delayed, STD payments will be paid on the next payroll period retroactively.