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Family and Medical Leave

Family and Medical Leave (FML) provides eligible employees with at least 12 workweeks of job protected leave in a rolling 12 month period for specified family and medical reasons.

Eligibility

To be eligible for FML, you must meet two conditions:

  1. You must have at least 12 months of service (within the past 7 years) with Johns Hopkins University; and
  2. You must have worked at least 1,250 hours at JHU within the last 12 months.
Reasons for using FML
  • Birth and bonding with a newborn child within one year of birth
  • Placement of a child for adoption or foster care and to bond with the newly placed child within one year of placement
  • Employee’s serious health condition
  • Caring for the employee’s spouse, domestic partner, son, daughter, or parent who has a serious health condition
  • Any qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that an employee’s domestic partner, spouse, son, daughter, or parent is a or call to covered active duty member on covered active duty status

FML is unpaid leave; however, eligible employees in a leave-earning status must first exhaust their sick time, vacation and floating holidays before being placed on unpaid leave.

Benefits while on FML

While using paid time off on FML, you will continue to pay your benefit contributions through the usual payroll deductions as long as you continue to receive a paycheck from the university.

If your FML is unpaid, JHU will continue to pay a portion of your benefits and you will be billed for your share of the cost on an after-tax basis. You will receive a letter and invoice in the mail from WEX, the university’s third-party biller.

The only benefit you cannot continue to receive during FML is a Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account—this account will be suspended during your leave.

Continuous or Intermittent Leave

You can use FML continuously or intermittently if you need to take leave a little bit at a time.

Continuous leave: Employees take leave in one continuous period of time, such as several days, weeks, or months. This type of leave is good for prolonged absences, such as when an employee is hospitalized or has surgery.

Intermittent leave: Employees take leave in small, separate blocks of time, often on an “on” and “off” basis. This type of leave is good for recurring or occasional needs, such as ongoing doctor’s visits or medical condition flare-ups.

How to Request Family and Medical Leave

Effective January 1, 2025, Lincoln Financial administers FML for all faculty, staff, and LiUNA bargaining unit members. Requests for FML prior to January 1 should go through your HR Business Partner.

  1. Contact your supervisor or HR Business Partner to notify them of your need for an FML leave of absence.
  2. Contact Lincoln Financial to start your claim. Call 888-246-4483 or visit MyLincolnPortal.com (registration code JHUEE).
  3. If the leave is for your own medical need, download a copy of the authorization form and give it to your treating physician. This will enable your physician to communicate with Lincoln.
  4. A claims manager from Lincoln Financial will reach out to confirm your eligibility and leave. After review of all required documentation, the claims manager will provide a determination of your claim.
  5. Check the status of your claim at any time at MyLincolnPortal.com.
  6. Continue to work with Lincoln through the duration of your leave.

Returning to Work

It is important to prepare for a smooth return to work. You should contact your supervisor or department HR representative as soon as possible to inform them of your intent to return to work. You must provide a minimum of 2 days notice of your readiness to return. Additionally, if you are returning to work from a continuous leave for your own health condition, you must be cleared by Occupational Health Services (OHS) and provide a copy of your clearance form to your supervisor.

If you are unable to return to work after 12 weeks of approved FML leave, you must contact the Office of Institutional Equity (OIE) to request an extension or accommodation at least 15 days prior to the expiration of your approved FML. You can reach the OIE at 410-516-8075 or [email protected].

Additional resources that may be helpful to prepare for your return to work: