Overview/Policy Statement
Effective Jan. 1, 2016, eligible employees may take up to five business days of paid leave for bone marrow donation or 30 business days of paid leave for organ donation in any one-year period. During the leave, employees are entitled to retain their benefits, including group health care coverage, and accrue benefits at the same rate as if they had not taken leave at all as provided under the terms of those plans.
This leave will run concurrently with Short-Term Disability (STD). If an employee’s STD benefit is less than 100 percent of pay, The Hartford will supplement the difference. This leave is not counted against the allotment of leave provided for under the Family Medical Leave Act or any applicable state leave law that does not apply specifically to organ or bone marrow donation.
Rationale
The Hartford complies with all applicable federal and state laws and supports employees who elect to serve as organ or bone marrow donors.
Eligibility
U.S. based employees of The Hartford are eligible for this leave if they have been employed by the company for at least 90 days immediately preceding the leave.
Applying the Policy
Job Protection
If eligible, an employee will be provided with up to five days of job-protected leave for bone marrow donation or up to 30 days of job-protected leave for organ donation in any one-year period. This time can be taken as a continuous or intermittent leave.
Any protected organ and bone marrow donation leave shall not run concurrently with leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) or any applicable state leave law that does not apply specifically to organ or bone marrow donation. As a result, no portion of this leave will count against an employee’s available FMLA leave.
This leave does run concurrently with the Organ and Bone Marrow Donations Leave policy applicable to California employees and any other applicable state leave laws that apply specifically to organ or bone marrow donation.
Impact to Pay
An employee will receive 100 percent of his or her pay on the same pay cycle as regular checks.
Filing a Claim for Organ and Bone Marrow Donation Leave
If an employee needs to file a claim for Organ and Bone Marrow Donation Leave, he or she must notify his or her manager of the need for a leave and call HartLeave at 800-727-9737. If the leave is foreseeable, the employee should call HartLeave at least 30 days in advance of the absence. If the leave is foreseeable less than 30 days in advance, the employee must provide notice as soon as practicable - generally, either the same or next business day.
HartLeave will send the employee a packet of information regarding his or her eligibility for Organ and Bone Marrow Donation Leave and explaining his or her rights and responsibilities.
Returning to Work
An employee should contact HartLeave at 800-727-9737 as soon as he or she anticipates returning to work.
Extensions
If an employee is on an Organ and Bone Marrow Donation Leave and realizes he or she needs more leave than originally planned, the employee must notify both his or her manager and HartLeave of the need and request an extension as soon as possible. Requesting an extension may require the submission to HartLeave of additional medical documentation.
Leaves that total more than five days for bone marrow donation or 30 days for organ donation may not be extended, but an employee may be eligible for another type of leave, such as Short Term Disability or Family and Medical Leave. Please refer to those policies for eligibility requirements.
Failure to Return to Work
If an employee does not return from Organ and Bone Marrow Donation Leave on the agreed upon date, and the employee has not provided HartLeave with acceptable medical documentation for his or her continued absence, he or she may be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination.
Other Information
Under some circumstances, employees may take Organ and Bone Marrow Donation Leave "intermittently." Intermittent leave is leave taken in blocks of time or a reduction in the normal weekly or daily work schedule.
Intermittent leave could include periodic or continual absences of less than a full day.
Impact to Benefits
Impact to paid time off (PTO)/holiday time
Employees will continue to accrue PTO while on Organ and Bone Marrow Donation Leave in the same manner as if they were actively at work.
Employees will be paid for any holidays that occur during any Organ and Bone Marrow Donation Leave.
Impact to benefits contributions
Eligibility for health and welfare benefits, except for Dependent Day Care Spending Accounts, continues while the employee is on Organ and Bone Marrow Donation leave from The Hartford in accordance with the terms of those plans.
The employee's benefits contributions will continue to be deducted from his or her pay.