Leaves

Having a baby or welcoming a new adoptive or foster child into your household?

Lynwood Unified wishes to offer you our sincerest congratulations on the new addition to your family! We wish you all the best during this exciting life development. In order to support you during this endeavor, this section is provided to confirm the steps required to facilitate your leave of absence relating to the birth of your child or the adoption or foster of a child. We advise all expectant parents (mothers, father, biological, or adoptive) to schedule a meeting with Human Resources to get a clear understanding of your leave options and to adequately prepare for you absence.

Pregnancy Disability Leave - The First Phase of Leave

Expectant mothers will be restricted from work by the doctor at or before the birth of the child. Typically, doctors will restrict mothers from work for birth and recovery for six to eight weeks. This period is referred to as Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL). During this time, you will be able to draw pay from your available sick leave. If you exhaust your sick leave prior to the end of your pregnancy disability leave, you will then be able to access differential pay for up to 100 days. Differential pay is the difference between your daily rate of pay and the cost of a substitute. The District will continue to contribute to your health benefits; however, please note that you are responsible for your normal contribution. Please submit a Leave of Absence Request Form to the Department of Human Resources as early as possible and provide a doctor’s note within ten days of when your doctor places you off work. Please have your doctor indicate the estimated return to work date on the note. The return to work date may change, but the initial estimate helps us all plan for your leave.

Parental Leave  - Time to Bond with your New Family Member

Employees are eligible to take up to 12 weeks of job protected leave for the purpose of bonding with a newborn child, or with a newly placed child in the household for adoption or foster care. You will draw pay from any available sick time during this period. Employees with at least one year of service will be entitled to differential pay for the remainder of the 12 weeks, or 50% of your salary, whichever is greater. To request this leave, the employee should submit the Leave of Absence Request Form to the Department of Human Resources no less than 30 days in advance of the planned absence. Parental leave must be used within 12 months following the birth or placement of the child. Parental leave must be taken in increments of at least 2 weeks’ duration; however, the employees may take parental leave in increments of less than two weeks on up to two occasions.

Again, the District will continue to contribute to your health benefits during parental leave; however, please note that you are responsible for your contribution.

Not Ready to Come Back to Work?

If you would like to request a leave of absence beyond the time for which you are eligible under FMLA or CFRA (for example, going on leave for the duration of the school year), you must request the leave of absence in writing at least 30 days in advance. The request would need to be approved by the Superintendent and the Board of Education. Any leave granted beyond the time for which you are eligible under FMLA or CFRA would be unpaid. The District would not continue to contribute toward health benefits while you are in an unpaid status. Please utilize the Request for Leave of Absence form to request such leave.

We wish all employees the best of health! If you should be facing a medical issue that will require you to be off work for more than 5 days, please complete the following process:

1. Obtain a doctor's note stating that you are placed off work due to a medical condition. Please ask your doctor to provide an estimated date you will return to work. Of course this date can change based on your condition, but it helps to have an estimated date for planning purposes.
2. Complete the "Leave of Absence Request Form" form and fill in all the information requested.
3. Submit/Review the request with your direct supervisor and get their signature. This is a notification only meeting, so your supervisor can best prepare for your absence.
4. Submit the "Request for Leave" form and your doctor's note to Human Resources.

Once the "Request to Leave" form is received and processed by Human Resources, we will notify you of the status of your request via mail.

While on approved medical leave, you will first use any sick leave you have accrued. If your amount of sick leave is exhausted, then you will receive up too 100 days of your salary minus the cost of a substitute (for certificated employees) or at 50% of your salary for classified employees.

Of course, medical issues sometimes are not known in advance. If you are aware of a planned medical procedure that will require you to be away from work, please complete the steps above as far in advance as possible. If your medical condition requiring you to be off work is sudden or an emergency, please report your absence through Aesop to secure a substitute, notify your supervisor, and complete the remaining steps as soon as your able. We hope you have a speedy recovery!

In addition to leaves for your own medical condition, eligible employees can request leaves of absences to care for an immediate family member with a serious medical condition.

Immediate family members are this sort of leave are your spouse, child, or parent. Employees are eligible for FMLA leave if they have worked for the District for at least 1,250 hours over the past 12 months. To request a leave to care for a family member, please complete the following process:

1. Request a doctor's certification that your immediate family member has a serious medical condition that requires care. The note should indicate the the anticipated frequency and duration of the need for care.
2. Complete the "Leave of Absence Request Form" form and fill in all the information requested.
3. Submit/Review the request with your direct supervisor and get their signature. This is a notification only meeting, so your supervisor can best prepare for your absence.
4. Submit the "Request for Leave" form and your doctor's note to Human Resources.

Once the "Request to Leave" form is received and processed by Human Resources, we will notify you of the status of your request via mail.

While on approved FMLA leave, you will first use any sick leave you have accrued. If your amount of sick leave is exhausted, then you will receive up too 100 days of your salary minus the cost of a substitute (for certificated employees) or at 50% of your salary for classified employees.