Bonding Leave
EDSI provides up to four (4) weeks of paid Bonding Leave to eligible employees following the birth or adoption of their child.
Full-time employees are eligible after the 1st of the month following 60 days of employment, and who have become a parent of a biological child (including by surrogate) or adopted a child while an employee. Bonding Leave is not disability based and is available to all eligible employees regardless of gender. The maximum amount of combined paid Childbirth and Bonding Leave is twelve (12) weeks in any twelve-month period.
An eligible employee must use paid Bonding Leave within the first six (6) months after the birth or placement for adoption of a new child. Paid Bonding Leave time (and any time other than FMLA or state leave, if applicable) is waived if not taken during this period. Bonding Leave must be taken all at once; intermittent leave is not permitted.
Bonding Leave will run concurrently with FMLA leave time, and, if applicable, state sponsored paid family and medical leave programs. An employee may use leave time under the FMLA and/or applicable state law as permitted by such laws and approved by the Company, but if use of leave time varies from this policy, the leave time will be unpaid by the Company.
Pay for Bonding Leave under this Policy is calculated so that an employee receives a maximum of one hundred percent (100%) of the employee’s regular pay rate (excluding overtime), less lawful deductions, inclusive of any amounts received from state-sponsored family or parental leave programs. Paid leave under this Policy is determined by the employee’s base rate of pay on the date leave begins, unless otherwise required by law.
PTO does not accrue while on paid leave under this Policy.
Eligible employees are restricted to no more than the above-described number of weeks of Bonding Leave under this Policy within a twelve-month period. While additional leave may be available under applicable law or Company policies, the fact that a multiple birth, adoption or placement occurs (e.g., the birth of twins or adoption of siblings) does not increase the total amount of Bonding Leave granted by EDSI under this Policy for that event.
When both parents work for EDSI, EDSI will not provide paid leave under this Policy to both employees at the same time to bond with or care for the child.
Connecticut FMLA
- CT FMLA provides eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave during a 12 month period for a qualifying family or medical leave reason.
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An eligible employee may take CTFMLA leave for any of the following reasons:
- Birth of a child and care for the child within the first year after birth;
- The placement of a child for adoption or foster care and care for the child;
- Care for a family member with a serious health condition;
- Because of an employee’s own serious health condition;
- To serve as an organ or bone marrow donor;
- To address qualifying exigencies arising from a spouse, son, daughter or parent’s active-duty service in the armed forces; and
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To care for a spouse, son, daughter, parent or next of kin with a serious injury or illness incurred on active duty in the armed forces.
- An employee must be employed by EDSI for at least 3 months (as of 1/1/2022).
- PTO does not accrue while on CT FMLA.
- Employees are still responsible for any benefit premiums while on leave.
- Federal FMLA and CT FMLA run concurrently to each other if the reason for CT FMLA is also an approved reason under the Federal FMLA policy.
Connecticut Paid Leave
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CT Paid Leave provides eligible employees, paid time off up to 12 weeks to:
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Start or expand their family
- If you are bonding with a new addition to your family — by birth, adoption, or foster care. You may also be eligible to receive income-replacement benefits for absences associated with pre-placement activities, such as court appointments, traveling, etc.
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Experiencing a serious health condition
- If you are receiving treatment for or recovering from a serious health condition, including pregnancy, or organ or bone marrow donation.
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Need to care for a family member experiencing a serious health condition
- If you are caring for a family member who is receiving treatment for or recovering from a serious health condition. A family member means a spouse, parent, spouse’s parent, child (of any age), child’s spouse, grandparent, spouse’s grandparent, sibling, sibling in law or an individual related to you by blood or affinity whose close association with you is the equivalent to one of the listed family relationships.
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Have been impacted by family violence
- If you are experiencing family violence, you may be eligible to receive up to twelve (12) days of CT Paid Leave benefits to seek medical or psychological care, to seek support from a victim services organization, to relocate, or to participate in any civil or criminal proceeding relating to family violence.
- Need to care for a military family member injured during active duty
- Need to take time to address qualifying exigencies associated with a call to active duty
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Start or expand their family
- Covered employees in Connecticut are eligible for benefits if they have earned wages of at least $2,325 in the highest quarter of the first four of the five most recently completed quarters and are currently employed, or have been employed within the last 12 weeks, or are self-employed, a sole proprietor and a Connecticut resident enrolled in the program.
- Employee can take another leave of absence with employer while on CT paid leave however salary cannot exceed 100% of the employee’s regular rate of pay.
- PTO does not accrue while on CT Paid Leave.
- Employees are still responsible for any benefit premiums while on leave.
- FMLA runs concurrently to CT Paid Leave.
To apply for CT Paid Leave:
- Submit claim either online via ctpaidleave.org or by calling (877) 499-8606
- Employee will receive employment verification form.
- Employee should submit verification form to Talent via electronic submission form below.
- After a Talent Specialist completes the form, we will send it to AFLAC by email or fax. Contact information is located on the form.
- EDSI is notified that a claim has been approved by email.
- CT PFL (AFLAC) pays out the benefit to the employee if approved.
FMLA
An eligible, full-time employee may be granted up to a maximum of 12 weeks of unpaid FMLA leave in a 12-month period of time for any one of the following reasons:
- To care for the employee’s spouse, children or parent with a serious health condition
- Because of a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the functions of his/her job
- For the birth of the employee's child, and to care for the newborn child
- For the placement with the employee of a child for adoption or foster care
An employee will not accrue PTO during this leave of absence.
A full-time employee is eligible for FMLA after one year of employment.
Employees are responsible for any insurance premiums while on a leave of absence.
Please complete this form to request a Leave of Absence. Please fill out completely in advance of the leave, where possible. Check the Employee Handbook for more details on the process.
Foster Care Leave
EDSI provides 40 hours of paid leave per year, following the first placement of a child(ren) at 100% of the employee’s regular pay rate (excluding overtime). This can be used in one-hour increments.
While on leave, PTO will not be accrued.
Jury Duty
EDSI will treat the absence of full-time employees selected for Jury Duty as paid leave. If an employee is excused early from Jury Duty, he or she is expected to report back to work on the next scheduled work day.
A copy of the jury summons must be provided.
Please complete this form to request a Leave of Absence. Please fill out completely in advance of the leave, where possible. Check the Employee Handbook for more details on the process.
Medical Leave
A full time employee who is not eligible for FMLA may request medical leave. This is an unpaid leave of absence that can be taken a minimum of 5 consecutive days, up to a maximum of 4 weeks for absences due to:
- An employee’s own illness or disability
An employee will not accrue PTO during this leave of absence.
When submitting your doctor's note, please have them include as much of the below information as possible as it relates to your medical leave request:
- Approximate date the condition started or will start?
- How long the condition or leave will last?
- Individual requires inpatient care?
- Individual will be incapacitated and receiving treatment?
- Pregnancy related leave?
- Individual has a chronic condition?
- Individual has permanent or long term condition?
- Individual has a condition requiring multiple treatments?
Military Leave
Employees will be granted a leave of absence without pay for military service or reserve duty and training as required by state and federal law. EDSI will comply with all applicable state and federal laws and regulations regarding re-employment and continuation of other benefits.
Please complete this form to request a Leave of Absence. Please fill out completely in advance of the leave, where possible. Check the Employee Handbook for more details on the process.
New York Paid Family Leave
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New York Paid Family Leave provides eligible employees job-protected, paid time off up to 12 weeks to:
- Bond with a newly born, adopted or fostered child,
- Care for a family member with a serious health condition, or
- Assist loved ones when a spouse, domestic partner, child or parent is deployed abroad on active military service.
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Covered employees become eligible to take Paid Family Leave for a qualifying event once they have met the minimum time-worked requirements:
- Full-time employees: Employees who work a regular schedule of 20 or more hours per week are eligible after 26 consecutive weeks of employment.
- Part-time employees: Employees who work a regular schedule of less than 20 hours per week are eligible after working 175 days, which do not need to be consecutive. Employees with irregular schedules should look at their average schedule to determine if they work, on average, fewer than 20 hours per week.
- The wage benefit is 67 percent of your average weekly wage (AWW), capped at 67 percent of the Statewide Average Weekly Wage (SAWW). Generally, your AWW is the average of your last eight weeks of wages prior to taking PFL, including bonuses and commissions. The maximum weekly benefit for 2024 is $1,151.16.
- PTO does not accrue while on Paid Family Leave.
- Employees are still responsible for any benefit premiums while on leave. If the paid leave is approved prior to pay cycle close, those premiums will be deducted from payroll normally.
- FMLA runs concurrently to NY Paid Family Leave.
To apply for NY PFL:
- Complete the Employee Portion of the PFL-1 Request (Download) and attach to this electronic form.
- Submit the electronic form to alert Talent Specialists of your request for PFL.
- A Talent Specialist will complete the employer portion of the documentation and return back to you within 3 business days.
- Complete the required certification depending on the type of PFL you are requesting:
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Application for NY PFL can be initiated one of two ways:
- Call 1-877-377-6773 OR
- Head to www.symetra.com/MyGO and click on "Submit a Claim".
Please complete this form and attach necessary documents to start the application process. Please fill out completely in advance of the leave, where possible. Check the Employee Handbook for more details on the process.
Short Term Disability
Short Term Disability is an EDSI provided benefit available to full-time employees. An eligible employee may be granted up to 12 weeks of approved Short Term Disability. In addition, there is a week long waiting period (including weekends) where FMLA/Medical leave or PTO will need to be used until approved disability begins.
Short Term Disability is a paid benefit in the amount of 60% of the employee’s regular weekly earnings up to a maximum of $900.
For Employees that have been employed for 12 full months, FMLA will run concurrent to Short Term Disability.
PTO does not accrue when on disability.
Employees are responsible for any insurance premiums while out on leave. If the disability claim is not approved before pay cycle close and will need to be on unpaid leave temporarily, the employee can submit payment for those insurance premiums to EDSI.
You can submit your claim one of two ways:
- Head to https://www.symetra.com/MyGO and click on "Submit a Claim" OR
- Call 1-877-377-6773 to submit your claim.
When submitting your claim, please use one of the two policy numbers below:
01-020709-00 (Non-NY Employees)
01-020709-01 (NY Employees)
You will need to provide Symetra with permission to contact your physician for them to obtain your medical records.
Once you have submitted your claim to Symetra, please complete the electronic submission form below to notify a Talent Specialist of your leave request.
**Please note: To avoid delays, please submit your claim as soon as possible and alert your physician that Symetra will be reaching out for information.