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Overview

Employees who meet applicable eligibility requirements are encouraged to utilize available leave and workplace accommodation benefits, including FMLA, when appropriate. However, participation in such entitlements is voluntary, and employees should apply only if they feel their circumstances require it. The information below is intended to help provide a better understanding regarding entitlements, utilization, reporting, and tracking of Family and Medical Leave as administered by the City of Albuquerque:

What is Family & Medical Leave?

The Family and Medical Leave Act or, FMLA, is a federal act passed in 1993 that can entitle eligible City of Albuquerque employees to:

  • Up to 12 workweeks of leave each leave year to care for themselves and/or qualifying family member(s) for medical reasons.
  • Up to 26 workweeks of leave in a single year to care for a covered military member with a serious, duty-related, illness or injury.
  • Continuation of group health benefits under the same conditions as if the employee did not use leave.
  • Returning to work at the same or virtually identical job once the leave period has ended.
  • Protection from employer interference and retaliation.

Utilizing FMLA Leave & 12-month "Rolling" Calendar

There are a variety of leave combinations available to meet an employee’s exact medical needs. These leave types can be used individually or combined and can include:

    • Block Leave, which means leave taken in one block of time
    • Intermittent Leave, which means leave taken in a separate block of time (as needed)
    • Reduced Schedule, which means reducing the employee’s usual weekly or daily schedule

The FMLA entitles eligible employees with up to 12 standard workweeks of job-protected FMLA Leave entitlement, however, this is unpaid leave. It is permitted for an employer to offer employees the option to use accrued paid sick, vacation, and/or compensatory leave for some or all of the FMLA leave period. This is called Substitution of Paid Leave.

The City runs FMLA on a 12-month rolling calendar, which functions in a way that leave is continuously deducted and earned over a "rolling" calendar year, based on when leave is utilized, like a conveyor belt. Dependent upon how often FMLA leave is utilized, and how many entitlement hours are deducted for each occurrence, can determine the pace with which FMLA leave is earned back.

EXAMPLE:

If the first recorded use of FMLA was on October 10th, 2025, for a total of 8 hours, that 8 hours will be earned back after October 10th, 2026 has passed. As each day FMLA was utilized in the previous year, passes in the current year, that time is earned back and may become available for use.

Reporting & Tracking FMLA Leave

The FMLA entitles eligible employees with up to 12 standard workweeks of job-protected leave, which the City converts into hours for tracking accuracy

EXAMPLE:

A City of Albuquerque employee, working a typical 40-hour work week, is entitled to 12 standard work weeks, for a total of 480.00 FMLA entitlement hours in a rolling-calendar year. (40 hours-per-week x 12 work weeks = 480 FMLA hours)

*THESE HOURS HOLD NO VALUE AND ARE FOR TRACKING PURPOSES ONLY*

An employee must adhere to any applicable City and Collective Bargaining leave rules in order to substitute paid leave. (i.e. – requesting time-off through time reporting portal, following proper union contract call-in procedures)

When reporting time off for FMLA related leave, simply request leave through the usual channel(s), with the exception of selecting an FMLA Time Reporting Code.

Employees must first use accrued sick leave when utilizing FMLA, after accrued sick leave is exhausted, employees may request to use vacation, compensatory accruals, or unpaid leave, except as otherwise provided in a City collective bargaining agreement.

In the event all paid leave accruals are exhausted, continuing leave on FMLA Without Pay is an option, contingent upon available FMLA entitlement hours. FMLA is federal job-protected leave, paid or unpaid, and should not require a formal request process like Leave Without Pay or Leave of Absence. Access to and utilization of Family and Medical Leave should not be obstructed by bureaucratic processes.

Click here to review a table of all currently active FMLA pay codes and their proper utilization.

Questions?

Email: [email protected]
Call: 505-768-3700