54-52.4 State Employee Leave Policies - North Dakota Statutes

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CHAPTER 54-52.4STATE EMPLOYEE LEAVE POLICIES54-52.4-01. Definitions. As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:1."Child" means a child by birth, an adopted or foster child, a stepchild, or a legal
ward, who is:a.Less than eighteen years of age; orb.More than seventeen years of age and incapable of providing self-care
because of a serious health condition.2."Employee" means an individual employed in this state by an employer, who has
been employed by the employer for at least twelve months, and who has worked at
least one thousand two hundred fifty hours for the employer over the previous twelve
months.3."Employer" means the state but does not include any political subdivision of the
state.4."Employment benefit" means all benefits provided or made available to employees
by an employer, including education, health care, insurance, leave, and retirement
benefits.5."Health care provider" means a registered nurse licensed under chapter 43-12.1, a
physician licensed under chapter 43-17, a psychologist licensed under chapter
43-32, or a licensed certified social worker licensed under chapter 43-41.6."Health care services" means services rendered by a health care provider within the
scope of the provider's license, including long-term care and hospice and hospital
care.7."Parent" means a birth parent, foster parent, adoptive parent, or stepparent.8."Serious health condition" means a disabling physical or mental illness, injury,
impairment, or condition involving:a.Inpatient care in a hospital licensed under chapter 23-16 or operated by the
United States or this state, long-term care facility as defined in section
50-10.1-01, or hospice program licensed under chapter 23-17.4; orb.Outpatient care that requires continuing treatment by a health care provider.9."Spouse" means an employee's husband or wife.54-52.4-02. Family leave.1.An employer shall grant an employee's request for a family leave of absence for any
of the following reasons:a.To care for the employee's child by birth, if the leave concludes within twelve
months of the child's birth.b.To care for a child placed with the employee, by a child-placing agency
licensed under chapter 50-12, for adoption or as a precondition to adoption
under section 14-15-12, but not both, or for foster care, if the leave concludes
within twelve months of the child's placement.Page No. 1c.To care for the employee's child, spouse, or parent if the child, spouse, or
parent has a serious health condition.d.Because of the employee's serious health condition that makes the employee
unable to perform the functions of the employee's job.2.For any combination of reasons specified in subsection 1, an employee may take
family leave in any twelve-month period for not more than twelve workweeks. The
twelve weeks of family leave may be taken intermittently for leave under
subdivisions a or b of subsection 1 if approved by the employer. The twelve weeks
of family leave may be taken intermittently for leave under subdivisions c or d of
subsection 1 if the leave is medically necessary. If an employee normally works a
part-time schedule or variable hours, the amount of leave to which an employee is
entitled must be determined on a pro rata or proportional basis by comparing the
new schedule with the employee's normal schedule.3.In any case in which a husband and wife entitled to family leave under this chapter
are employed by the same employer, the aggregate period of family leave to which
both are entitled may be limited by the employer to twelve workweeks during any
twelve-month period.4.An employee shall reasonably consider the needs of the employer in scheduling
family leave under this section or in using leave under section 54-52.4-03.5.The family leave required by this chapter is not required to be granted with pay
unless otherwise specified by agreement between the employer and employee, by
collective bargaining agreement, or by employer policy.6.The family leave required by this chapter supplements any leave otherwise available
to an employee.54-52.4-03. Use of other available leave for care of parent, spouse, or child. Anemployer that provides leave for its employees for illnesses or other medical or health reasons
shall grant an employee's request to use that leave to care for the employee's child, spouse, or
parent if the child, spouse, or parent has a serious health condition. An employee may take not
more than forty hours of leave under this section in any twelve-month period. The employer shall
compensate the employee for leave used by the employee under this section on the same basis
as the employee would be compensated if the leave had been taken due to the employee's own
illness.54-52.4-04. Notice to employer.1.If an employee intends to request family leave for the reasons specified in
subdivision a or b of subsection 1 of section 54-52.4-02, the employee, in a
reasonable and practicable manner, shall give the employer advance notice of the
expected birth or placement.2.If an employee intends to take family leave for the reasons specified in subdivision c
or d of subsection 1 of section 54-52.4-02, the employee shall:a.Make a reasonable effort to schedule the planned care or treatment so that it
does not unduly disrupt the employer's operations, subject to the approval of
the health care provider to the child, spouse, parent, or employee; andb.Give the employer advance notice of the planned care or treatment in a
reasonable and practicable manner.54-52.4-05. Certification for leave to care for child, spouse, parent, or employee'sserious health condition.Page No. 21.If an employee requests family leave for the reasons described in subdivision c or d
of subsection 1 of section 54-52.4-02 or leave under section 54-52.4-03, the
employer may require the employee to provide certification, as described in
subsection 2, from the provider of health care to the child, spouse, parent, or
employee.2.An employer may not require certification of more than:a.That the child, spouse, parent, or employee has a serious health condition.b.The date the serious health condition commenced and its probable duration.c.Within the knowledge of the health care provider, the medical facts regarding
the serious health condition.54-52.4-06. Continued health coverage. During a period that an employee takes familyleave, the employer shall continue to make any group health insurance coverage or health care
plan for its employees and their dependents available to the employee and the employee's
dependents under the conditions that applied immediately before the family leave began. The
employer is not required to pay any cost of insurance or health care for that employee and the
employee's dependents while the employee is on family leave.54-52.4-07. Position upon return from leave.1.When an employee returns from family leave the employer shall immediately place
the employee in an employment position as follows:a.If the employment position the employee held immediately before the family
leave began is vacant, in that position.b.If the employment position which the employee held immediately before the
family leave began is not vacant, in an employment position having equivalent
compensation, benefits, hours of employment, and other terms and conditions
of employment.c.If, during the family leave, the employer experiences a layoff and the employee
would have lost a position had the employee not been on leave, pursuant to the
good-faith operation of a bona fide layoff and recall system, including a system
under a collective bargaining agreement, the employee is not entitled to
reinstatement in the former or equivalent position. In such circumstances, the
employee retains all rights under the layoff and recall system, including a
system under a collective bargaining agreement, as if the employee had not
taken the leave.2.If an employee on family leave requests a return to work before the end of the leave
as scheduled, the employer shall place the employee in an employment position of
the type described in subsection 1 within a reasonable time not exceeding the
duration of the leave as scheduled.3.No employer may, because an employee received family leave, reduce or deny an
employment benefit that accrued to the employee before the employee's leave
began or accrued after the employee's leave began. However, this chapter does not
entitle a returning employee to a right, employment benefit, or employment position
to which the employee would not have been entitled had the employee not taken
family leave or to the accrual of any seniority or employment benefit during a period
of family leave, unless otherwise provided by a collective bargaining or other
agreement between the employer and employee.Page No. 354-52.4-08.Prohibited acts - Individual remedies.No person may interfere with,restrain, or deny the exercise of any right provided under this chapter.In addition to anyremedies otherwise provided by law, any person injured by a violation of this chapter has a claim
for relief to recover any damages, together with costs and disbursements, including reasonable
attorney's fees, and may receive injunctive and other equitable relief as determined by the court.54-52.4-09. Scope.1.This chapter does not prohibit an employer from providing employees with rights to
family leave which are more generous to the employee than the rights provided by
this chapter.2.This chapter does not limit or diminish an employee's rights or benefits under
chapters 52-01 through 52-07.1.54-52.4-10.Application.This chapter first applies, with respect to any employeecovered by a collective bargaining agreement on January 1, 1990, on the day after that collective
bargaining agreement expires or is extended or renewed.Page No. 4Document Outlinechapter 54-52.4 state employee leave policies