Frequently Asked Questions

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Q. If an employee worked 3 years at another State of Texas agency, but has worked only 5 months with the Health Science Center, is the employee eligible for FMLA?
A. Yes, if within the five month period the employee has reached the required 1,250 hours. The State Attorney General has given the opinion that for FMLA purposes, the State of Texas is considered the employer and thus time worked for any agency of the State of Texas should be counted towards the employee’s eligibility requirement of working 1,250 hours in the past 12 months preceding the leave.

Q. Can a department refuse an employee’s request for family or medical leave for a reason covered under the FMLA?
A. Yes. A department can refuse an FMLA leave request for many legitimate reasons, such as not meeting the eligibility requirements, not providing certification of serious health conditions (when the department has given written notice of such a requirement), having already taken the maximum permissible leave time, not providing documentation of the family relationship (when requested), etc.

Q. To count time off against an employee’s FMLA entitlement, is the department required to inform the employee in writing before the leave starts?
A. Yes. FMLA time off is effective on the latter of the date of the employee’s first FMLA-related date of absence or the date that the employee’s department approves the time off under FMLA

Q. Can the department retroactively place an employee on FMLA?
A. Generally, no. There are only three instances in which retroactive designation of leave as FMLA is permitted:

a. If the employee were absent for an FMLA reason and the department did not know the reason for the absence until the employee’s return. (This must be done within two days of the employee’s return.)

b. If the leave were taken for an FMLA reason but not designated as such by the department, but the employee wants it to be designated as FMLA leave. In this instance, the employee must notify the department that the
leave was for an FMLA reason within two business days of returning to work. If the employee fails to notify the department within two business days, the leave may not be counted as FMLA leave.

c. If the department knew the reason for the leave but was not able to confirm it qualified for FMLA, or medical certification requirements were not met.
Departments are advised that should any of these instances apply in a situation, the Office of Human Resources should be contacted for further guidance.

Q. To count medical leave for family against an employee’s FMLA entitlement, must the employee request or agree that the leave counts against the entitlement?
A. No. The department makes the determination of whether a leave will be designated as FMLA leave, based on FMLA provisions.

Q. Can the Health Science Center have a leave policy that is more generous than the FMLA requires?
A. Yes. In fact, if the employee’s FMLA entitlement expires and the employee has an additional leave balance, the employee can be granted extended time off until the leave balance is depleted, provided that there is documentation to support the extended time off.


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