The Essential Guide to Family & Medical Leave

294 | the essential guide to family and medical leave
Leave year. The 12-month period during which an eligible employee is
entitled to 12 weeks of FMLA leave.
Light duty. Work that is less demanding (physically, mentally, or because it
requires fewer hours of work) than an employee’s usual position.
Medical certification. A written document verifying an employee’s need to take
leave for a serious health condition, prepared by a health care provider.
Moonlighting. Working for another employer while on leave.
Multiemployer health plan. A health plan established pursuant to a collective
bargaining agreement, into which at least two employers make contributions.
Overtime. Hours worked over and above 40 hours in a week (or eight hours
in a day, in some states) and requiring premium pay under the FLSA.
Parenting leave. Leave following birth, adoption, or foster placement,
including bonding leave.
Part-time employee. An employee working fewer than 40 hours per week.
Pregnancy disability. Disability due to pregnancy, childbirth, or related
conditions.
Preliminary designation. A written designation of leave as FMLA leave,
pending an investigation into whether the leave actually qualifies for the
FMLA’s protections.
Primary employer. A joint employer that has authority to hire and fire the
employee seeking leave, place the employee in a particular position, assign
work to the employee, make payroll, and provide employment benefits.
Qualified employee with a disability. An employee with a disability who
can perform the job’s essential functions, with or without a reasonable
accommodation.
Reasonable accommodation. Assistance (technological or otherwise) or change
to the workplace or job that allows the employee to perform the essential
functions of the job.
Recertification. A subsequent certification of an employee’s serious health
condition.