FMLA

1) Absence Notification- Day One Through Day Three

Call your immediate supervisor or absence administrator, as applicable for your work group. Please make this call prior to the start of your scheduled work time to let them know you will not be at work due to illness or injury.

            Provide the following information when you call:

·         Date of 1^st day of absence.

·         Whether your absence is a new absence, or is related to a previously approved intermittent certification. (Note: Please provide the FMLA certification start date if there are multiple certifications.)

The Absence Reporting Center (ARC) will be notified of your absence by your supervisor.  A letter to either confirm or deny your administrative eligibility for FMLA (worked 1250 hours in previous 12 months) will be put in the mail to your home address within two (2) business days. 

YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE AN FMLA MEDICAL CERTIFICATION FORM WITH YOUR LETTER.  You can get the form from your supervisor or on the eweb from a Verizon computer.  You can also download an FMLA form from the IBEW Local 824 website.  It is imperative that you send the completed forms to the ARC within 25 days of the 1^st day of your absence.

***You should check on your FMLA approval/denial if you have not received anything on your certification within 7 days. It is not up to your supervisor to advise you if you have been approved or not. DO NOT wait on a letter to be mailed if it has been more then 7 business days; call FMLA yourself for an update on your certification. YOU HAVE ONLY 25 DAYS from your first date of absence period to get an approval!****

GUIDELINES FOR FILING FMLA FORMS

·         Have your healthcare provider complete the FMLA forms.  The ARC must receive the completed forms within 25 days of the 1^st day of absence.

·         if the ARC determines your forms are incomplete, and you are within the 25-day period to submit the forms, the ARC will send you a denial letter.  The ARC must receive the corrected forms within 25 days of the 1^st day of absence.

·         If forms are incomplete and 25-day period has expired, the ARC will send a denial letter with instructions for requesting an Administrative Review.

·         You will have 14 days from the date of the denial letter to request an administrative review.  All corrections must be initialed and dated by your healthcare provider.  The ARC must receive the corrected forms AND A WRITTEN REQUEST FOR ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW within 14 days of the date of the denial letter.

To ensure your forms are sent, fax the completed forms yourself, and call the ARC at 1-877-275-8947 to verify they were received. 

2) Absences Beyond Three Calendar Days (more than 3 working days)

Call MetLife at (800) 638-4228 on or before the 4^th calendar day if your illness or injury continues for more than three calendar days (or, you suffer a relapse within 14 calendar days of returning from a previous disability absence). This call should be made on or before the fourth calendar day of your absence. If your absence is a relapse within 14 calendar days of a previous disability, you need to call MetLife immediately. If you do not call MetLife there may be a delay in your pay.

Please be sure YOU do the following:

·         You must stay in constant contact with the MetLife case manager.  The best way to do this is to call MetLife at (800) 638-4228 and request a call back from your case manager.  Case manager must return call within 2 hours if you call before 3 PM.

·         Questions to ask:

o       1 week prior to expiration of MetLife approval, contact case manager and ask for detailed info that your doctor needs to provide to extend your short-term disability claim.

o       You must ask you doctor to provide all the requested info to MetLife

·         If possible fax the forms to MetLife yourself, and get a confirmation sheet that has the phone number of the fax you sent it from.  If not, make sure you get the fax number from your doctor’s office.  Call MetLife to verify they received all of the faxes.  By giving the fax number to MetLife case manager it enables verification of receipt of your fax.

 ***It is our suggestion that if you will be out for more then 3 days consecutively that you file both a MetLife claim and fill out FMLA forms for these absences***

YOU NEED TO BE AN ADVOCATE FOR METLIFE AND YOUR DOCTOR

NOTE: If you have changed your address just prior to your absence, you may want to contact 1-877-Ask-VzHR (1-877-275-8947), absence administration and follow the prompts to talk to a customer service representative to verify that the FMLA team has your most current address. 

At anytime, you can contact 1-877-Ask-VzHR (1-877-275-8947), absence administration and follow the prompts to talk to a customer service representative with general questions on FMLA or to check the status of your claim.

If you have any other questions, please call Michelle Agne at the Union Hall or email her at magneibew824 [dot] org