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Informal Roster Survey FAQ's

Colleagues,

 
Make sure you fill out the district's Informat Survey of NTU Staff. This will help the district determine what will happen throughout the rest of the school year.  
 
The question on the survey is:
 
I plan on returning to in-person (hybrid model) instruction at my location in January. 

 
Whether you say yes or no, you should still fill out the comment section to explain your concerns!  This comment section goes a long way to dictating what the rest of the school year will look like.
 
If you say no, you will be provided with some options. We wanted to provide some additional info on these options.  Please review the below exclusions before you select yes!  
 
- I am or will be out on an leave: To be clear, staff out on FMLA is not typically going to be doing remote learning.  If you need to take a medical leave for yourself or a family member, use these forms.
 
-Health-Related Issues: This is for staff requesting to work remotely because of a health issue. You can have your doctor fill out an ADA/504 Form.  Staff already on a 504 need to reapply like they do every year. These forms need to go to the district health office. Instructions are given when you click on this option.
 
- Child Care Issues: When you click on this option, you will be asked to provide specifics. Indicate that this creates a "HARDSHIP" for you, and be as specific as possible. Your children are doing remote learning on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but you are willing to do in-person teaching on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, then say it!  You should be using the FFCRA paperwork we sent out a few weeks ago.  
 
- Other: This is a catch-all for situations that don't clearly fall in one of the other buckets. Explain why working in-person would be a "HARDSHIP"  and explain your availability if there is any. Be as specific as possible!
 
 
 

Other information:

 
 
Also, we got some additional information from AFT's Legal Department about FMLA and FFCRA:

 

 
The thing to note about FMLA and FFCRA is that the two weeks paid sick leave required under FFCRA is in addition to any FMLA leave an employee is entitled to (including any leave accrued under an employer policy or CBA) whereas the 10 weeks of leave to care for a family member or child whose school/day care as closed is not in addition to FMLA leave (and the employer may require the employee to use their accrued leave in concurrence with the 10 week FFCRA leave). So, if an employee has used FMLA leave prior to needing FFCRA leave, it could count against their 10 weeks of paid leave available under FFCRA to care for a family member or child whose school or daycare is closed because of COVID. I have copied below two FAQs from the Department of Labor that grapple with this question.

Do I qualify for leave for a COVID-19 related reason even if I have already used some or all of my leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)?

If you are an eligible employee, you are entitled to paid sick leave under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act regardless of how much leave you have taken under the FMLA.

However, if your employer was covered by the FMLA prior to April 1, 2020, your eligibility for expanded family and medical leave depends on how much leave you have already taken during the 12-month period that your employer uses for FMLA leave. You may take a total of 12 workweeks for FMLA or expanded family and medical leave reasons during a 12-month period. If you have taken some, but not all, 12 workweeks of your leave under FMLA during the current 12-month period determined by your employer, you may take the remaining portion of leave available. If you have already taken 12 workweeks of FMLA leave during this 12-month period, you may not take additional expanded family and medical leave.

For example, assume you are eligible for pre-existing FMLA leave and took two weeks of such leave in January 2020 to undergo and recover from a surgical procedure. You therefore have 10 weeks of FMLA leave remaining. Because expanded family and medical leave is a type of FMLA leave, you would be entitled to take up to 10 weeks of expanded family and medical leave, rather than 12 weeks. And any expanded family and medical leave you take would count against your entitlement to pre-existing FMLA leave.

If your employer only becomes covered under the FMLA on April 1, 2020, this analysis does not apply.

May I take leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act over the next 12 months if I used some or all of my expanded family and medical leave under the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act?

It depends. You may take a total of 12 workweeks of leave during a 12-month period under the FMLA, including the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act. If you take some, but not all 12, workweeks of your expanded family and medical leave by December 31, 2020, you may take the remaining portion of FMLA leave for a serious medical condition, as long as the total time taken does not exceed 12 workweeks in the 12-month period. Please note that expanded family and medical leave is available only until December 31, 2020; after that, you may only take FMLA leave.

For example, assume you take four weeks of Expanded Family and Medical Leave in April 2020 to care for your child whose school is closed due to a COVID-19 related reason. These four weeks count against your entitlement to 12 weeks of FMLA leave in a 12-month period. If you are eligible for pre-existing FMLA leave and need to take such leave in August 2020 because you need surgery, you would be entitled to take up to eight weeks of FMLA leave.

However, you are entitled to paid sick leave under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act regardless of how much leave you have taken under the FMLA. Paid sick leave is not a form of FMLA leave and therefore does not count toward the 12 workweeks in the 12-month period cap. But please note that if you take paid sick leave concurrently with the first two weeks of expanded family and medical leave, which may otherwise be unpaid, then those two weeks do count towards the 12 workweeks in the 12-month period.


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