Teachers and FMLA

wnoony15 · February 2011

Does anyone know the details of the FMLA? When do i have to file for FMLA? How long does it last, etc? Just curious if anyone has gone through this process already and how it turned out. My sick days are just about finished and I am getting ready to apply for FMLA. Thanks for any information and all of your help.

megann831 · February 2011

it's 6 weeks paid then 6 weeks unpaid. I'm a teacher too and it worked out to be about 1/2 of what I would have made working in those 6 weeks. You probably should have applied by now, call your HR dept and talk to them about it

funkyfrog · February 2011

For me it worked like this -

sick days

Federal Leave ( no pay) I didn't fill out anything

NJ Family leave (6 paid, 6 unpaid) - I filled out a portion and my school filled out a portion. I faxed it to the state.

https://lwd.state.nj.us/labor/forms_pdfs/tdi/fl1.pdf

wnoony15 · February 2011

do you remember when you applied for it?

funkyfrog · February 2011

For the NJ Leave?

You cannot send the paperwork in until your leave begins. Mine started early February so that's when I faxed it over. I gave it to my work a few weeks before though.

wnoony15 · March 2011

I guess my question is when do you actually begin your NJ Leave? Is it when you began your sick days or when your sick days ended and you aren't getting paid anymore. I am afraid that I am applying too late being my sick days are ending now--but I am not too sure. Do you know this?

funkyfrog · March 2011

I believe you can begin it after the 12 weeks of Federal Leave (if you decide to take that) or immediately have your sick days. You will not be applying too late b/c the form says you have 30 days to apply for it.

What did you tell your district you were doing? When do you plan to return to work?

wnoony15 · March 2011

Today is my last sick day that i can take...so i believe that my family leave begins tomorrow...today is my last day on payroll...i am not going back to work until September so i am done for the remainder of the school year... I went to my board today and gave them the paperwork that they need to fill out--but the person who was in charge of this was let go last year because of the budget...so the two secretaries really aren't familiar with FMLA. My plan is to fill my paperwork out this week and send it in. i don't want to be late and be declined or have my benefits reduced... I saw that the paperwork said that i had 30 days to apply for it--I just wanted to make sure that my 30 days didn't start when my sick days started and that it actually started when my sick days ended...

Does this sound right?

funkyfrog · March 2011

No it starts when you are done with your sick days. The day after your sick days are over, you would use that date. You actually can't send it in any earlier or it would be denied so you should be ok.

Good luck

wnoony15 · March 2011

Thank you so much for all of your help. I am going to fill out the paperwork and send it in. I hope its not too difficult to fill out!

Thanks again!

kej2883 · March 2011

I am also a NJ teacher and I'm trying to figure all of this out. Someone told me that if I take a paid leave from my district (i.e. use my sick days), then I can't take advantage of all 6 weeks of the FMLA. So, if I took 2 weeks of paid sick leave, I could only collect 4 weeks of the NJ FMLA. Can anyone clarify this for me? Is this true...?!?

mrs.hoof · March 2011

No, from what I understand you are entitled to all 6 weeks no matter if you take the sick days or not. It is applicable to anytime wihtin a year of the childs birth for bonding. My husband is even taking 2 weeks of FMLA to be home wiht the baby. There is more information on the state website, and they have a number that you can call to clarify all your questions. It does seem complicated, but it is simple. You use your sick days first then apply for FMLA when your sick days are all used up.

Check out - https://lwd.state.nj.us/labor/fli/fliindex.html

I am lucky because the ladies over at my board office are really up to date with the NJ FMLA and have been very helpful. Hopefully this helps you!

onthewaybaby · March 2011

Ok so I am a teacher also. I am due November 11, 2011. This is the way I thought about it. Is this correct? As of November 11th (or the due date) my school allows you to take 20 sick days. Then after the sick days I can take 12 weeks and receive payment for 6 of those? but I would receive my benefits for all 12 weeks?

Please advise if this sounds right. So I would return to school around March 7th....Thanks!

Want a personalized experience?

Teachers and FMLA

Re: Teachers and FMLA

Choose Another Board

Search Boards