FMLA

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FMLA

• Employers Responsibility

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Logging in
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Go to Blue Page
Click on TACS
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Click on eRMS Home Page
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Click on Start eRMS
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Then click Here
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Enter Username, your TACS password, Database is
eRMS06
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• All leave is to be input through the eRMS system

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Add Leave
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Enter employees ID number or Last Name Then
click on Find Highlight employees name below
then click on Select
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Click on date of requested leave
Select Yes to FMLA
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If employee calls for existing case request their
FMLA case number
If the employee does not know their case number
or if the leave is for a new FMLA case click on
Request a new FMLA case then choose condition,
then click on save
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Choose leave type Click OK
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FMLA Management

• To view employees FMLA information

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Click on Leave Then click on FMLA Management
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To view different FMLA Cases click on arrow next
to case
Action Status (3 Pending) Action Date From
Through Through date is date documentation is
due to FMLA Coordinator
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Selected Case
Long Term condition if checked will send FMLA
Coordinator message when leave is applied if
through date has expired
Case information as entered by FMLA Coordinator
Frequency and Duration information Supervisors
responsibility to track
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Case selected
Action Status
Case information
Dates not protected as FMLA
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Whats the importance of asking for the FMLA case
when an employee calls in?
Employees may have more than one FMLA case on
File. Creating new FMLA cases when not necessary
is not Cost effective.
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Employee returns to duty after a short absence
(not more than 3 days) and requests their absence
to be protected under the FMLA, What should the
supervisor do? If the employee was absent for an
FMLA reason and the employer did not learn the
reason for the absence until the employees
return (e.g. where the employee was absent for
only a brief period) the employee may upon the
employees return to work, promptly (within two
business days of the employees return to work)
designate the leave retroactively with the
appropriate notice to the employee. If the leave
is taken for an FMLA reason and the employer was
not aware of the reason, and the employee desires
the leave be counted as FMLA leave, the employee
must notify the employer within 2 business days
of returning to work. In the absence of such
timely notification by the employee the employee
may not subsequently assert FMLA protections for
the absence. 29 CFR Ch. V 825.209 (1) As soon as
the employee notifies the supervisor of the
request for FMLA (within 2 business days of the
employees return to work) the supervisor must
edit the leave in eRMS to reflect FMLA the same
day as the request. Once the supervisor has input
the leave and changed the designation to FMLA the
system will send a message to the fulfillment
center located at Topeka, Kansas as well as to
the local FMLA Coordinator.
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Postal employee Calls their supervisor to
request 8 hours leave, the employee continues to
call in for 4 consecutive calendar days. What
should the supervisor do? The supervisor should
make sure the employee has one year of service
and the required 1250 work hours in the last 26
pay periods. If the supervisor is unsure he is to
call the FMLA Coordinators office for
assistance. If the employee meets these
requirements the supervisor is to edit the leave
in the eRMS system to reflect FMLA. In eRMS go
to Leave then Leave Management, find the employee
and click on the first day of the absence then
click on the edit button on the right side, click
the radio button yes to change the answer to the
question is leave for FMLA. When the screen
changes click the radio button to create a new
case then click the appropriate category for self
or family member save then choose the same leave
type the employee asked for then save.
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An employee has been out for over a week and
theyre still calling in requesting FMLA Sick
leave The supervisor should send the employee a
Notice to Report. What should you do if and
when the employee provides you the documentation
that you have requested after the notice to
report was sent or requested when documentation
was deemed necessary for the protection of the
postal service? This information must be sent
to the FMLA Coordinators Office. This may also
be the same information that the coordinator is
waiting for in order to qualify the employees
absence as FMLA.
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FMLA DATA Frequency and Duration It is up to
the manager/supervisor to monitor the employees
frequency and duration of an employees FMLA
usage for an approved chronic condition on
file. To view this information the
manager/supervisor must find the employee in the
eRMS system then click on the FMLA Data button
located on the right side of the screen. You must
then identify the correct FMLA approved chronic
condition. Information on the condition will be
contained in the case comment box. The
information for the frequency and duration is
located below the comment section. When an
employee has breached this time frame you must
call your FMLA Coordinator during the employees
absence.
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Sick Leave Dependent Care ELM 513 Sick Leave
Non-bargaining unit employees, and bargaining
unit employees if provided in their national
agreements, are allowed to take up to 80 hours of
their accrued sick leave per leave year to give
care or otherwise attend to a family member (as
defined in 515.2) with an illness, injury, or
other condition that, if an employee had such a
condition, would justify the use of sick leave.
ELM 515.2 Definitions The following definitions
apply for the purpose of 515 Son or Daughter
biological, adopted, or foster child, stepchild,
legal ward, or child who stands in the position
of a son or daughter to the employee, who is
under 18 years of age or who is 18 or older and
incapable of self-care because of mental or
physical disability. Parent biological parent
or individual who stood in that position to the
employee when the employee was a child. Spouse
husband or wife. Managers and Supervisors Once
an employee has used 80 hours of their sick leave
in a leave year the employee is not entitled to
use any additional sick leave to give care to a
family member. Any additional time needed to care
for a family member would be annual leave or
leave without pay. Under FMLA this rule remains
the same.
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National Agreements FMLA is not intended to
change bargained-for agreements between employer
and employees Sick Leave for Dependent Care is a
paid leave category separate from FMLA USPS
limitation of sick leave for dependent care to 80
hours a postal leave year to care for a qualified
family member should be enforced once the 80
hours are exhausted the employee must use annual
leave or leave without pay Light duty is separate
from FMLA, which does not provide a right to a
modified position or another position. All light
duty information must be sent to the medical unit
to input the information in eRMS and to
review Example An employee needs 160 hours of
leave to care for a qualified family member. The
employee has provided a complete FMLA
Certification and has been FMLA approved for the
time needed to care for the family member. How
much sick leave dependent care leave is the
employee entitled to under FMLA? The employee is
only entitled to 80 hours of sick leave dependent
care any additional leave would have to be either
FMLA Annual leave or FMLA LWOP the employees
choice. The employee may be entitled to 480 hours
of FMLA protected leave but the employer has a
restriction on the use of sick leave that can be
used during a postal leave year to care for the
family member.
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• Supervisor Comments

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Find the employee, Click on Leave, then click on
Supervisor Comments
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Enter the Title, Change Share column from N to Y,
Enter your comments in the space provided. Do Not
use eRMS to record your Discussions.
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When an employee submits medical documentation to
the supervisor to support their absence If the
absence is for or related to an FMLA condition
the supervisor is to send the documentation to
the FMLA Office by mail and they are to call
and or email the FMLA Coordinator that
documentation for the employee is being sent. If
the supervisor is not sure if the information
pertains to an FMLA condition then they are send
it to the FMLA Coordinator so they can make that
determination. If the absence is not for an FMLA
condition then the documentation is to be sent to
the Medical Unit at (2200 NW 72nd Ave. Miami Fl
33152-9451) so that the documentation may be
maintained in the employees medical file. Do not
make copies and place in the employees station
file. Medical documentation is not to be
maintained in an employees file at their work
location. All medical documentation is to be
maintained at the Medical Unit in the employees
medical file.
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When is documentation to be submitted for an
employees scheduled absence? Documentation for
an employees requested leave in advance must be
provided prior to the start of the requested
leave. Example Postal employee is requesting
sick leave (six weeks) for an upcoming surgery as
the supervisor you should be provided medical
documentation prior to the start of that leave
and that documentation must support the time
requested by the employee on the submitted 3971
which must be completed with a beginning and an
ending date. The 3971 should never be accepted as
open ended (no return or ending date). This leave
may also be qualified as FMLA you should contact
your FMLA Coordinator to discuss the employees
eligibility and any information that you may have
on the employees request for leave.
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An employee gets injured on the job can this also
be FMLA? An employee that has an injury on the
job may also qualify as an FMLA absence as well.
If the injury meets the criteria of an FMLA
condition (the employee has 1250 work hours in
the last 26 pay periods and has 1 year of
service) the supervisor should also enter and
code the leave as FMLA. Examples The injury
caused the employee to have an overnight stay in
the hospital. The injury has caused the employee
to be absent for more than 3 consecutive calendar
days.
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Triggers to code leave as FMLA

• Inpatient Hospital Stay / self or family member
• Absence of more than 3 consecutive calendar days
• Pregnancy / Birth of child / Adoption
• Employee requests FMLA during call in
• Condition sounds serious to you

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FMLA Office Location 16000 Pines Blvd. Pembroke
Pines, Fl 33082-9654 FMLA Coordinators areas
of responsibility Christopher Powell Ph
[phone] Ft. Lauderdale PO, Hollywood PO,
South Florida PDC, Hialeah, Homestead, Dania,
and all of the Keys Reydel Medina Ph (954)
436-4497 Miami PO, Pompano Ranard McPhaul Ph
[phone] Miami General Mail Facility, LDC,
ISC, Ft. Lauderdale PDC, Miami Beach, and
Opa-Locka Fax [phone]