Types of LOA
- Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
- Personal Health Leave
- OJI (On the job injury)
- FMLA/Military Exigency
- FMLA/Military Caregiver
- Military Leave
Requirements before starting unpaid LOA
- Contact your immediate principal/administrator/supervisor to notify them of your intent to go on unpaid LOA.
- Apply for LOA by contacting the Human Resources Department at 904-390-2065. LOA paperwork is also available at the DCPS Employee Benefits Department website.
- Contact the dedicated Leave of Absence representative in the Employee Benefits Department at 904-390-2887 for information about your benefits and how to continue insurance premiums/coverage while you are on LOA.
- Contact the Payroll Department at 904-390-2022 to advise the Payroll Technician assigned to your work location of your intent to go on LOA.
When will your active coverage end?
Employer Paid Health coverage:
- For FMLA leave, the end of the month after your 84th day of leave (3 months).
- For Non-FMLA leave, the end of the month following the 30th day of leave. Note: Pay close attention to your coupons/billing for when these dates run out. It is your responsibility to pay those premiums associated with your benefits on each coupon.
Employer Paid Group Life Insurance:
- For FMLA leave, the end of the month following the 30th day of leave.
- For Non-FMLA leave, the end of the month following the 30th day of leave.
When should you apply for LOA?
To protect your benefits you should apply for a leave of absence (LOA) whenever you will be in an unpaid status for longer than 10 days. Contact the dedicated LOA representative in the Employee Benefits Department to learn the process for applying for a leave of absence. If you are using sick/annual leave and know you are going to be out longer than you have leave available, you need to apply for LOA. If you miss work as result of work-related injury/illness and do not have leave available to cover what OJI does not, then you would need to apply for a LOA.
Benefit changes while on LOA
Employees on LOA are allowed to make changes (qualifying event) to their current benefits elections when they go on LOA and return from LOA. Employees may cancel some or all of the benefits they wish not to continue while on LOA. Certain voluntary benefits that are canceled or termed due to non-payment while on LOA cannot be reinstated when you return from leave.
Continuing benefits while on LOA
We encourage employees going on leave of absence to contact the Employee Benefits department at 904-390-2887 if you have any questions regarding payment and premiums owed while on leave.
FMLA leave — You may continue your benefits while in an approved FMLA status. The District will make medical plan “Employee Only” contributions on your behalf while on approved FMLA up to 3 months. You will be responsible for the employee cost for the medical plan if you have dependents covered or have employee-only contributory plan coverage. You will also be responsible for all of your other current benefit contributions. FBMC Benefits Management Inc., will mail all LOA employees payment coupons. All billing is on a bi-monthly basis and payments are mailed to FBMC. Coverage will be terminated if premium payments are not received by the end of the month the payment is due.
Non-FMLA leave — You may continue your benefits while in an approved non-FMLA status. The District will make medical plan “Employee Only” contributions and group life insurance on your behalf up to the end of the month following your 30th day on LOA. You will be responsible for the employee cost for the medical plan if you have dependents covered or have employee-only contributory plan coverage. You will also be responsible for all of your current benefit contributions. FBMC Benefits Management, Inc., will mail all LOA employees payment coupons. All billing is on a bi-monthly basis and payments are mailed to FBMC. Coverage will be terminated if premium payments are not received by the end of the month the payment is due.
Short-Term/Long-Term Disability income protection for personal Illness — Employees who are enrolled in short-term and/or long-term disability plans and are on a leave of absence due to their own personal illness (FMLA or Personal Health Leave) will be billed for those plans from the first day of the leave through the date that the disability benefits are expected to begin. When a premium waiver is applied, employees will not be required to make premium payments. Note: if you have both STD and LTD plans and have a waiver of premium for one of them, you are still required to pay premiums on the other benefit.
Employees on leave of absence other than for their own illness are not eligible to continue the STD or LTD plans while on LOA. The coverage will end the end of the following month once your LOA begins.
Employees whose STD and LTD benefits are termed due to the type of leave taken or due to non-payment while on LOA must complete an enrollment on their return to work in order for the plans to be added back. These plans will not start automatically upon your return to work.
Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) while on leave — Reimbursement for FSAs are only considered if expenses are incurred during the period you have made contributions. No reimbursement will be made for expenses during an unpaid leave if you fail to continue to make contributions.
Dependent Care FSA — Contributions cannot be made while on an unpaid leave of absence.