Time Off/Leave of Absence

Family & Medical Leave Acts (FMLA)

Eligible employees may take up to 60 work days of job-protected leave for qualifying family and/or medical or military situations per calendar year, as provided by the Family Medical Leave Acts (FMLA). 

Qualifying FMLA reasons include:

• Birth or Adoption of a child
• Serious medical condition of employee
• Serious medical condition of a family member
• Military - Qualifying Exigency
• Military - Caregiver for a Current Service Member
• Military - Caregiver for a Veteran

Wisconsin FMLA and Federal FMLA run concurrently. An employee may be approved for Wisconsin FMLA, but not Federal FMLA due to their employment status and/or hours worked.

After FMLA has been exhausted, employment is terminated.

How Much Time is Available through FMLA?

Wisconsin FMLA click to learn more

Federal FMLA  click to learn more

Do I Qualify for FMLA? 

Federal FMLA:

To be eligible for Federal FMLA, employees must have worked for their employer for at least 12 months and have worked at least 1,250 hours in the 12 months immediately preceding the start of the requested leave.     

Wisconsin FMLA:

To be eligible for Wisconsin FMLA, employees must have worked for their employer for at least 12 months and have worked at least 1,000 hours in the 12 months immediately preceding the start of the requested leave.   

Medical Leave (Non-FMLA)

An employee who is not eligible for FMLA may apply for a Medical Leave of Absence. After Medical Leave is exhausted, employment is terminated. To apply, complete the Request for Leave of Absence and the required Certification of Healthcare Provider found on this page under REQUIRED CERTIFICATION FORMS. 

Child Rearing Leave (teacher unit only)

A teacher unit employee may request child rearing leave through the remainder of the school year after a baby is born. The employee shall retain the right to return to the position they formerly held at the time the leave was requested.

To request Child Rearing Leave, complete the Request for Leave of Absence Form. 

Child Rearing Leave (support staff unit only)

A support staff unit employee may request child rearing leave through the remainder of the school year after a baby is born. The employee must give up rights to their job after FMLA ends but are guaranteed a VESPA position when they return.

To request Child Rearing Leave, complete the Request for Leave of Absence Form. 

Once-in-a-lifetime Unpaid Leave

Once-in-a-lifetime leave eligibility will be updated to once every 5 years. Employees who request and are approved for the leave may take between 3 days and 3 weeks off for this leave, with an exception beyond three weeks on a case-by-case, pre-approved basis. Employees may use up to 10 general leave days while on their once-in-a-lifetime leave but must keep at least 5 general leave days in their remaining balance. 

All once-in-a-lifetime leave requests may be made for situations that do not fall under any other category. All once-in-a-life-time leave requests will be reviewed and will either be granted or denied at the District’s sole discretion.

PLEASE NOTE: ANY unpaid time off of work qualifies as a once-in-a-lifetime leave, even if it is for a single day and MUST be requested and approved by the District.  

To request a Once-in-a-lifetime Unpaid Leave, complete the Request for Leave of Absence Form.   

The employee shall retain the right to return to the position they formerly held at the time the leave was requested.

Income while on a Leave

Eligible employees may use their accrued and available General Leave and/or Vacation to receive pay while on FMLA or Non-FMLA Medical Leave of Absence. 

All other leaves of absence are unpaid and may affect your benefit eligibility.

Benefits while on a Leave

FMLA Leaves

Employees will continue to be enrolled in medical, dental, vision, flexible spending accounts, life insurance, and long-term disability insurance while on FMLA protected leave. Premium contributions will continue at the same employee/VASD paid levels. If the employee does not receive paychecks during this time, premium contributions will be invoiced.

Medical Leaves

Paid: Employees will continue to be enrolled in medical, dental, vision, flexible spending accounts, life, and long-term disability insurance while on paid Medical Leave. Premium contributions will continue at the same employee/VASD paid levels.  

Unpaid: Employees can continue to be enrolled in medical, dental, vision, and flexible spending accounts while on unpaid Medical Leave via COBRA continuation for up to 18 months at the full cost of the insurance.    

When VASD's insurance contributions end, employees will be notified and will be eligible to reenroll upon returning from leave.  

Qualifying Life Events: Marriage, Divorce, Birth/Adoption of a Child or Loss of other Insurance: 

If an employee would like to make changes to their insurance coverage, such as add a baby or spouse to health/dental/vision insurance or change/enroll in FSA, they must complete the change within 30 days the qualifying life event. Employees should notify Human Resources of the date of the marriage, divorce, birth/adoption of child and/or loss of other insurance coverage. Employees will then receive instructions for making changes to your benefits through Talent Ed.

Employees may want to consider updating their life insurance beneficiary information at this time, as well.

Employees may want to consider updating their Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) and any 403(b) vendor beneficiaries. Contact WRS and/or your 403(b) vendor directly to make these changes, if desired.

Long-Term Disability (LTD)

The initial sixty (60) calendar days are considered the eligibility waiting period. The day the employee goes out on leave due to a serious medical condition is day one (1).  During this time, the employee may use General Leave and/or Vacation to receive pay for any contracted/scheduled work days.  

Employees will receive an LTD Application for Benefits at least 15 days prior to the end of the waiting period. The completed application must be returned to The Standard Life Insurance Company for approval. 

Once LTD is approved and through the end of disability, employees may receive up to 90% of their regular earnings through The Standard Life Insurance Company.

Disability pay, in some cases, is taxable earnings. Employees should discuss their tax situation with a tax advisor and may want to consider having taxes withheld from the disability checks.

The switch to Long-Term Disability may impact an employee’s Social Security and/or Medicare status. Employees are encouraged to contact the Social Security office to understand any and all implications.

Please be aware, there is a significant chance employees on LTD may need to enroll in Medicare A and/or B due to Long Term Disability and/or Insurance Premium Waiver.

Reasonable Accommodations

ADA Accommodations, such as additional Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) or alternative work assignments, may be made for employees who have a medical condition that prevents them from being able to work under their current job expectations. Please talk to your doctor about what accommodations may be needed. All accommodation requests need to be sent to Rachelle Hady: hadyr@verona.k12.wi.us.

Additional Resources

Employee Assistance Program (EAP): There are times in life when you might need a little help coping or figuring out what to do. Take advantage of the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) which is available to you and your family. It’s free and confidential — 888-293-6948 or http://workhealthlife.com/standard3

Nurse Line: If you are unsure if you need to seek treatment or are unsure where to go, contact a Nurse on Call through your health insurance plan (24x7). 

Dean on Call Nurse 800-576-8773

Prescription Drug Takeback Program: If you have unused prescriptions, you can take them to a drug takeback location, free and confidential. Review information on drug take back days here: www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/opioids/drug-take-back-day.htm

Prescription pain medicine addiction is a growing problem in Dane County and Wisconsin.  More information about prescription pain medication addiction, resources and treatment help can be found at:  www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/opioids/index.htm

*Please refer to the Employee Handbook for any details or definitions of the leaves of absence available to you. The employee handbook will supersede all information in this FAQ.

Have Questions? Contact the HR Helpdesk at: payrollbenefits@verona.k12.wi.us.

• Illness of the employee
• Illness of a member of the family
• Legal involvement unable to be scheduled outside of contracted time (up to one [1] day, up to two [2] days outside of Dane County)
• Maternity/paternity or adoptive proceedings
• Weekday graduation of a member of the family (up to one [1] day, up to two [2] days outside of Dane County). General leave is not available for local graduations occurring on a weekend
• Proceedings pertaining to military service, including a family member’s graduation or call to active duty, not including routine military service such as summer camp, (up to one [1] day, up to two [2] days outside of Dane County)
• Family wedding or wedding where the employee is a member of the wedding party (up to one [1] day, up to two [2] days outside of Dane County)
• Visit a school with a spouse, child, or grandchild (e.g., college campus visit (up to one [1] day, up to two [2] days outside of Dane County), special school activity such as 8th grade promotion, school play, P/T conference unable to be scheduled outside of contracted time). Attendance at sporting events and helping a family move into a college dorm are not considered school visits
• Academic conferences relevant to post-secondary degrees (e.g., writing Master’s Exam, National Board Certification exam for teachers (up to one [1] day)
• Dental or medical appointments unable to be scheduled outside of contracted time
• Any emergency concerning one’s family* (up to one [1] day)
• Funeral of a relative or friend
• Bereavement for death
• Religious holidays
• Adverse Weather (for hourly support staff only)
• 6 weeks of leave in a calendar year for the birth/adoption of a child
• 2 weeks of leave in a calendar year for the care of a child, spouse/domestic partner or parent
• 2 weeks of leave in a calendar year for the employee’s own serious medical condition
• • Up to a total of 12 weeks off in a calendar year for the following reasons:
    • Birth/adoption of a child
    • To care for a child, spouse or parent with a serious medical condition
    • The employee’s own serious medical condition
    • A qualifying exigency for the employee’s spouse, son, daughter, parent or next of kin 
    • Up to 26 weeks of leave during a single 12-month period to care for a covered service member with a serious injury or illness if they are the employee’s spouse, son, daughter, parent or next of kin.