Workers’ Compensation
The provisions of the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act covers employees of the District for work-related injuries and occupational diseases. An employee should report all injuries immediately to his/her supervisor. The supervisor will provide the employee with a telephone number to report the injury to a representative with School Districts Insurance Consortium. The representative will record all pertinent information and provide an opportunity for the employee to speak with a staff nurse in selecting the proper health care provider and answer any questions regarding medical issues. Failure to comply with the reporting requirements could result in denial of benefits to which the employee otherwise may be entitled.
In order to insure that the insurance carrier will pay for medical treatment, the employee must select from one of the licensed physicians or practitioners of the healing arts listed below on the Panel Physician List.
Other approved providers are available in other geographic areas. Please see your Workers’ Comp Coordinator or contact SDIC for additional providers.
If you need treatment, you must continue to treat with one of the health care providers listed for ninety (90) days from the date of the first visit.
If after this ninety (90) day period you still need treatment and Kennett Consolidated School District has provided this list, you may continue with this health care provider or you may choose another health care provider. In order for the bills to be paid, you MUST notify the Kennett Consolidated School District’s Human Resources Office (444-6607) of this action within five (5) days of your visit to the health care provider of your choice. Your bills will be paid IF: your health care provider files reports as required (these reports must be filed within ten (10) days after your first visit and at least once a month for as long as treatment continues).
If one of the health care providers listed refers you to a specialist, Kennett Consolidated School District or our insurer will pay for these services as provided by law. You are advised not to pay a medical provider under any circumstances.
The designated person for you to contact is Sandy Caldwell at the District Office (444-6607). The Employer’s Report of Occupation Injury or Disease and all medical bills should be submitted to her.
COBRA
The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 requires that employers who sponsor group health plans offer employees and their families the opportunity for a temporary extension of health coverage at group rates in certain instances where coverage under the plans would otherwise end. If an employee is covered by any of the District’s group health plans (medical, dental, and prescription), he/she has a right to choose this continuation coverage if he/she loses such coverage because of a reduction in hours of employment or the termination of employment (for reasons other than gross misconduct on the part of the employee).
The law requires that the employee, his/her spouse, or his/her dependent children, where applicable, have the option to elect continuation coverage for a period shown below:
| Person | Reason for Termination | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Employee | Voluntary termination | 18 months |
| Involuntary termination (except for gross misconduct) | 18 months | |
| Reduction in work hours | 18 months | |
| Spouse | Death of employee | 36 months |
| Divorce or legal seperation | 36 months | |
| Employee becomes eligible for Medicare | 36 months | |
| Dependent Child | No longer qualifies as a dependent | 36 months |
Coverage continuation will be at the request and expense of the individual(s) affected by the loss of coverage.
The law also provides that continued coverage for the employee may be terminated prior to the expiration of the 18-month or 36-month period, only under the following circumstances:
- Abolition of all health plans provided to any employee.
- Failure to pay premium.
- Covered under another health plan upon reemployment, remarriage, or attainment of Medicare eligibility.
Family and Medical Leave
The following Board policy establishes leaves for family and medical reasons for employees who are eligible under law.
The purpose of this policy is to address certain leave of absence issues and to ensure the Kennett Consolidated School District’s compliance with the Family and Medical Leave Act.
Pursuant to the provisions of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, the Board of School Directors directs the Superintendent to implement regulations providing appropriate family and medical leave for all eligible employees.
Eligible Employees – This policy shall be applicable to all employees who have been employed by the District for at least twelve (12) months and who had at least 1,250 hours of service with the District during the previous 12-month period prior to the commencement of the leave.
Reasons for Leave – The District will grant FMLA leave for any of the following reasons: 1) birth, adoption, or foster placement of a child with the employee. Leave for this purpose must end within one year after the birth or placement; 2) caring for a spouse, parent or child due to a serious health condition; 3) serious health condition of the employee, a condition that would make the employee unable to perform regular job functions.
Application for Leave – The employee must provide at least thirty (30) days notice of a foreseeable leave due to the expected birth or placement of a child, for treatment of a serious health condition, or to care for an eligible family member. A reasonable effort should be made to schedule planned medical treatment so as not to unduly disrupt the operations of the District. The employee must submit a completed “Request for Family and Medical Leave” form and the appropriate medical documentation to the Human Resources Office. When advance notice is not practical, the employee should provide verbal notification to the Human Resources Office within one or two days when the need for leave becomes known. The employee will then submit a completed “Request for Family and Medical Leave” form and the appropriate medical documentation.
Length of Leave – Eligible employees are entitled to up to twelve (12) weeks of FMLA leave during a twelve (12) month period. The District will measure the 12 month period forward from the date the employee’s first FMLA leave begins.
When both spouses are employed by the District, the combined amount of leave for birth or adoption/placement of a child is limited to 12 weeks. However, for the serious health condition of the employee, spouse, child, or parent (not parent-in-law), each spouse would qualify for up to twelve (12) weeks.
Benefits During Leave – The Board of School Directors will maintain the same level of group health plan benefits as if the employee on FMLA leave had continued in employment continuously for the duration of such leave. Employee co-payments for health plan benefits will continue to be paid by the employee during the leave. If an employee fails to return to work at the conclusion of his or her FMLA leave, the District will recover from the employee the premiums it paid for health insurance for the employee during the leave. However, the District will not recover from the employee amounts it paid for health insurance during the leave if the employee fails to return because of the serious health condition of the employee, the employee’s spouse, child, or parent, or for reasons beyond the employee’s control. If an employee fails to return to work, the District will require the employee to provide medical certification attesting to the inability to return to work within 30 days.
Substitution of Paid Leave for Family and Medical Leave Act Leave – The Board of School Directors requires the employee to use all earned sick leave, personal/emergency days, and vacation days during a FMLA leave. If there are insufficient paid leave days, then the remaining FMLA time shall be unpaid leave. Paid leave taken by an employee will be designated as FMLA leave by the District if it is taken for a Family and Medical Leave Act qualifying purpose.
Certification of Serious Health Conditions and Fitness for Work – The employee must provide medical certification supporting the need for leave due to the employee’s own serious health condition or an immediate family member on a form to be provided by the District.
The District may, at its discretion and expense, require a second medical opinion. If the first and second medical opinions differ, the District, at its own expense, may require the opinion of a third health care provider regarding the need for leave due to a serious health condition. The third health care provider must be designated or approved jointly by the employer and the employee. This third opinion shall be final and binding. Pending receipt of the second (or third) medical opinion, the employee is “provisionally” entitled to the benefits of the Act. If the certifications do not ultimately establish an employee’s entitlement to FMLA leave, the leave will not be so designated and may be treated as paid or unpaid leave under the District’s established leave policies.
The employee must provide re-certification of medical conditions every thirty days, or more frequently at the discretion of the District, as allowed by the Family and Medical Leave Act.
An employee who takes FMLA leave because of his or her own serious health condition, as such condition is defined under the Act, the District shall require the employee to obtain medical certification from a health care provider that the employee is able to return to work. Specific notice of a “fitness for duty” medical certification shall be provided to the employee at the time a leave is requested for a serious medical condition. The District will deny reinstatement until the requested certification is provided.
Reinstatement from Leave – At the conclusion of FMLA leave, the employee will be restored to his or her original position with equivalent pay, benefits, and other employment terms as if they had not taken such leave or to an equivalent position with equivalent employment benefits, pay and other terms and conditions of employment. This provision will not apply to salaried employees who are among the highest paid 10% of employees of the District, if it is determined that the restoration of the employee will cause “substantial and grievous economic injury” to the operations of the District. Written notification will be given to the employee as to his or her status in response to the employee’s notice of intention to take a FMLA leave and will include the determination by the District if reinstatement will cause “substantial and grievous economic injury.”
Intermittent Leave or Reduced Leave Schedule – An intermittent leave or a reduced leave schedule may be taken by an employee for the treatment of a serious health condition or that of a spouse, parent or child. However, intermittent leave or reduced leave schedule may not be taken for the birth, adoption, or foster placement of a child.
When intermittent leave or leave on a reduced leave schedule is requested based on planned medical treatment, the District may require the employee to transfer temporarily to an available alternative position for which the employee is qualified and which better accommodates the recurring periods of leave than does the employee’s regular position. Alternatively, the District may alter an existing job to better accommodate the employee’s need for intermittent or reduced leave. The alternative or altered position must have equivalent pay and benefits, but not equivalent duties.
Special Limitations of Family And Medical Leave Act Leave For Instructional Employees – When leave is taken near the end of the academic term or half-year, the District may require the instructional employee to continue his or her FMLA leave to the end of the term if: a) the leave begins more than five (5) weeks before the term’s end, will last at least three (3) weeks, and the employee would return to work within three (3) weeks of the end of the term; or b) the leave is for a purpose other than the employee’s serious health condition, begins during the five (5) week period before semester’s end, will last more than two (2) weeks, and the employee would return during the two (2) week period before the end of the term; or c) the leave is for a purpose other than the employee’s own serious health condition, begins during the three (3) week period before the end of a term, and will last more than five (5) working days.
The entire period of leave taken counts as FMLA leave. However, if the annual FMLA leave entitlement of an employee who is required to take leave until the end of an academic term ends before the leave is completed, the District will still maintain health benefits, reinstate the employee, and provide all other FMLA entitlements when the leave ends.
If an eligible instructional employee requests intermittent leave or leave on a reduced leave schedule to care for a family member, or for the employee’s own serious health condition, which is based on foreseeable planned medical treatment, and if the employee would be on leave for more than 20% of the total number of working days over the period of the leave, then the District may require the employee to choose either; a) to take leave for a period or periods not greater than the duration of the planned treatment; or b) to transfer temporarily to an available alternative position for which the employee is qualified, which has equivalent pay and benefits, and which better accommodates recurring periods of leave than does the employee’s regular position.
Definitions – To the extent that this Policy employs terms which are defined in the Family and Medical Leave Act or the regulations interpreting it, those definitions are incorporated into this Policy.
Compliance with the Family and Medical Leave Act -This Policy is intended to comply with the requirements of the Family and Medical Leave Act. To the extent that it fails to do so, the provisions of the FMLA shall prevail.
Adopted: May 8, 2017 Board Policy #335
Social Security
Social Security is a federal program that provides a base retirement income and other benefits for all eligible participants. It is financed by employers through a payroll tax paid to the federal government and by employees through a payroll deduction that is forwarded to the federal government.