FAQ – Leave and Absences

Health Insurance While I Am on Leave of Absence

Can I keep my health insurance while I am on a leave of absence? Yes, while you are on an approved leave of absence you are covered by your health insurance benefits. NOTE: While you are not being paid by Mount Sinai, health insurance deductions will continue to be made. When you return to work, your unpaid benefits deductions will be taken from your paycheck, in addition to deductions for your current coverage. Your benefit deductions will automatically be taken for the amount that is in arrears. Arrears are based on the number of pay periods that you were not paid by Mount Sinai.

Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

What is FMLA? FMLA is the Family and Medical Leave Act, a federal law that allows you to take up to a 12-week unpaid leave of absence from work for your own serious illness, disability, or to care for an immediate family member. FMLA allows you to maintain your medical benefits and provides job security. To qualify for FMLA, you must have been employed for 12 months when the leave starts, and you must have worked 1,250 hours during that time.

Who qualifies as an immediate family member under FMLA? The employee’s spouse, child, or parent qualifies as an “immediate” family member. If any one of the immediate family members has a serious medical condition, and you will be caring for them, you may qualify for FMLA.

Can unused FMLA be carried over to future calendar years? No. FMLA starts the day the employee goes out on the qualified leave of absence and lasts for up to 12 weeks (or 60 days) of FMLA in a 12-month period from the date of the event. Unused FMLA for the one-year (12-month period) does not carry over to the next year(s).

New York State Paid Family Leave (NYS PFL)

What is NYS Paid Family Leave? NYS PFL (also referred to as PFL) is a state law that provides employees up to 12 weeks (as of 2021) of paid leave of absence that allows you to bond with a new child, care for a sick family member, or assist a family member when they are deployed abroad on active military duty. To qualify for PFL, you need to have worked 26 consecutive weeks and 20 hours or more per week. If you worked less than 20 hours per week, then you will qualify for PFL after 175 days of work. For a birth parent, once no longer considered “disabled” (unable to work due to illness or injury), you are eligible to take NYS PFL. More about NYS PFL: • NYS PFL will run concurrent with FMLA (when you are not disabled). • While on FMLA/PFL, you will be paid your regular salary using your PTO days. • Once you have exhausted your earned PTO/vacation days, you will be eligible to receive weekly PFL payments from The Hartford in the amount of 67 percent of your salary but not above $1,068.36, which is the capped

Average Weekly Wage in New York State (for 2022). • NYS PFL can be taken for up to one year after the arrival of a new child or one year after placement in the home or to care for an ill family member.

Short Term Disability (STD)

What is Short-Term Disability? • NYS Short-Term Disability is a state regulation that allows

Mount Sinai to pay you using your sick days while you are on leave of absence for your own illness or disability. • The length of time for Short-Term Disability is dependent on the type of illness/surgery, recovery time required by your physician, and the approval of your leave of absence by The Hartford. • STD for childbirth is generally from six to eight weeks, depending on the type of birth. However, disability may also occur prior to the birth, which would be additional time. • While you are considered disabled (unable to work due to illness or injury), you will be paid your regular salary by using your earned sick days. • If your sick days are exhausted prior to the end of your disability leave, you are eligible to receive STD payments of $170 per week from The Hartford. • If you are enrolled in the Enhanced STD, you are eligible to receive 66.66 percent of your income, capped at $1,000 per week.

What types of conditions qualify for STD? Short-Term Disability may cover the employee’s own pregnancy, or accidental injury or illness not related to work. STD insurance replaces a portion of the employee’s income.

Am I eligible for both STD and FMLA at the same time? Yes. STD (paid) runs concurrent with FMLA (unpaid), provided you have met the qualifications for both STD and FMLA. You will be paid sick time during this period.

MSHS Paid Parental Benefit

What is MSHS Paid Parental Benefit? Effective January 1, 2022, eligible full-time and part-time employees shall be entitled to convert up to 30 sick days from their sick savings bank (prorated for eligible part-time employees), if such time is available, to parental days to care for and/or bond with the newborn/child within one year of an eligible event. Employees must work 15 hours or more per week and have been employed at least one year prior to the eligible event (e.g., birth, adoption, surrogate, or foster care placement event) to be eligible for the Paid Parental Benefit. Eligible staff include: • Non-union staff under the PTO program • Faculty • Associate physicians

When can I use the Paid Parental Benefit? The Paid Parental Benefit must first be used concurrently with FMLA/PFL, except in rare circumstances where FMLA/PFL have been exhausted prior to the eligible event. In such circumstances, Paid Parental Benefit must first be used concurrently with either FMLA or PFL (if available), and then, if qualified, independently once FMLA and PFL have been exhausted.

What are the reasons for which the Paid Parental Benefit may be used? 1. To care for and/or bond with an employee’s newborn child within the first 52 weeks after the child’s birth; 2. To care for and/or bond with a child whom an employee has adopted or who has been placed in an employee’s foster care within the first 52 weeks after the adoption or placement. How do I request to use the Paid Parental Benefit? If an employee requests the conversion of sick savings days to Paid Parental days, Paid Parental leave shall run concurrently with Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and/or New York Paid Family Leave (NYS PFL) and can be taken continuously or intermittently. In order to be eligible for the Paid Parental Benefit, an employee’s request to convert the sick savings days must be made prior to the start of the Paid Parental leave via Sinai Cloud and the employee must complete a leave request with The Hartford.

The Hartford

What is the role of The Hartford in the Leave of Absence (LOA) process? The Hartford will track claims and send notifications to the employee, leave coordinator, and the line manager or administrator for the employee. It is important that employees notify and update their supervisor/manager with their LOA status.

Should I always contact The Hartford when I am taking a leave of absence? Yes. Contact The Hartford by calling 888-714-4380 or visiting their website at https://abilityadvantage.TheHartford.com.

Return to Work

What is the process to return to work after a medical leave? Before you can return to work after a medical leave, you must confirm your return-to-work date with your manager and contact Employee Health Service (EHS). You must complete and submit to EHS a Medical Clearance Form. EHS will review the form and provide clearance for you to return to work for any absence more than three consecutive days. Upon approval, EHS will provide the Referral and Return to Work form for you to submit to your manager.

For questions regarding the leave process, please contact the following leave coordinator for your site:

The Mount Sinai Hospital Ashley Stephenson ashley.stephenson@mountsinai.org 347-977-7785 Icahn School of Medicine Gwynne Meacham gwynne.meacham@mountsinai.org 646-483-9402

Mount Sinai Queens Norma Calame norma.calame@mountsinai.org 718-808-7716 Mount Sinai Beth Israel Donnette Truss donnette.truss@mountsinai.org 212-844-7679

Mount Sinai Brooklyn Melanie Sacay melanie.sacay@mountsinai.org 718-951-2767 Mount Sinai Morningside Jekera Fleming jekera.fleming@mountsinai.org 212-523-2001

Mount Sinai West Jekera Fleming jekera.fleming@mountsinai.org 212-523-2001

New York Eye and Ear Donnette Truss donnette.truss@mountsinai.org 212-979-4275

Elmhurst Hospital Saika Khan saika.khan@mountsinai.org 718-334-4847

Queens Hospital Jasmine Estevez jasmine.estevez@mountsinai.org 718-883-4008