Medical Leave
Prince George’s County offers both FMLA and FML to eligible County employees. For more details about these types of medical leave, or to apply for either type, please see the information below.
Family Medical Leave Act
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993 is the federal law that requires employers to provide eligible employees with up to twelve (12) workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for qualifying family and medical reasons. It is the policy of Prince George’s County to comply with the provisions of the FMLA and the relevant regulations. The Office of Human Resources Management, Occupational Medical Services is responsible for processing all requests for FMLA related leaves for Prince George’s County departments.
- Eligibility: Employees must have been employed for 12 months and must have actually worked 1,250 hours during the previous 12 months.
- Coverage: 12 workweeks during any 12 months
- Family Members: Spouse, child, or parent
Prince George’s County Family Medical Leave
The County offers eligible employees enhanced Family Medical Leave (FML) benefits for up to 15 workweeks of any combination of paid and unpaid leave. Unless specifically identified in County Personnel Law Section 16-225.01 and/or Personnel Procedure 284 Section 11 (rev. 2017), the County administers FML pursuant to the federal FMLA regulations. OHRM is responsible for oversight of the processing and maintenance of all employee requests for FML received from the respective agency FML coordinators. Upon review of the requests and required supporting medical documentation, OMS is responsible for making a final FML determination on behalf of the OHRM Director (PL Sec.16-225.01, (c)).
- Eligibility: Employees must be eligible to earn annual leave and have been employed by County for 12 months; must be paid for 1,040 hours during the previous 12 months; and can be in any pay status in order to meet this threshold.
- Coverage: 15 workweeks during any 12 months
- Family Members: Spouse, child, parent, or parent-in-law
FMLA & FML Resources and Forms
- FML Request Form
- Employee’s Serious Health Condition Form - use when a leave request is due to the medical condition of the employee.
- Family Member’s Serious Health Condition Form - use when a leave request is due to the medical condition of the employee’s family member.
- Qualifying Exigency - use when the Military leave request arises out of the foreign deployment of the employee’s spouse, son, daughter, or parent.
- Military Caregiver Leave of a Current Service Member - use when requesting leave to care for a family member who is a current service member with a serious injury or illness.
- Military Caregiver Leave of a Veteran - use when requesting leave to care for a family member is who a covered veteran with a serious injury or illness.
- FMLA vs FML Chart
- FMLA Frequently Asked Questions
- FMLA Poster
- FML Coordinator Verification Form
- Kronos Eligibility Verification Process
In light of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, Congress passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which includes both the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSL) and the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (EFMLA) that ended on March 31, 2021.
To continue to support Prince George’s County Government employees through the vaccination phases, the County will offer COVID Administrative Leave (CAL) effective April 1, 2021 through June 30, 2021.
COVID Administrative Leave (CAL)
- Availability: April 1 through June 30, 2021
- About CAL: provides up to 80 hours of administrative leave to eligible employees who are unable to report to work or telework due to one of the following six COVID-19 related reasons: (1) the employee is subject to a Federal, State, or local quarantine or isolation order; (2) the employee has been advised to self-quarantine by a healthcare provider; (3) the employee is experiencing symptoms and seeking a medical diagnosis; or (4) the employee is experiencing any substantially similar condition as identified by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
- Coverage: The County will provide up to 80 hours of paid leave for the first two weeks of CAL.
- Eligibility: Full- and part-time employees, contract and temporary employees. There is no minimum work time requirement.
- Form: CAL Request Form ~ submit the completed form, along with supporting documentation, to your agency Human Resources Liaison.
For some grant-funded employees, any leave eligibility may be dependent upon the terms of the grant. Please review your grant documents and contact OHRM@co.pg.md.us if you have questions.
The CAL benefits chart also provides an overview of these benefits.
If you have questions regarding CAL, please contact your agency Human Resources Liaison.
Prince George’s County offers Disability Leave (DL) to eligible County employees. For more details about this type of medical leave or how to apply for DL, please see the information below.
Prince George’s County Disability Leave
The County offers eligible employees paid Disability Leave (DL) benefits that are not charged against an employee’s accrued annual or sick leave balances. Unless specifically identified in a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), County Personnel Law Section 16-224 and/or Personnel Procedure 284 Section 9 (rev. 2017) governs the County’s administration of DL benefits. OHRM is responsible for oversight of the DL program and liaisons with the County’s Onsite Medical Clinic (the Clinic), which serves as the County’s Medical Review Officer (MRO). The MRO is responsible for determining—at the time of the clinic visit—whether the medical condition presented is from a work-related incident/accident or if the condition is non-occupational, and for providing an appropriate duty status determination based on the employee’s current medical condition and position description.
- Covered Employees: Permanent full-time and part-time classified and exempt employees.
- Eligible Employees: Eligible employees must have timely reported that they believed an injury/illness was sustained directly in the performance of their work to their direct supervisor within 24 hours of their workplace incident/accident, unless extenuating circumstances prevented their timely report. The injury/illness must have caused the employee to be temporarily disabled and the employee must be medically evaluated by the Clinic until released to a full duty status by the Clinic.
- DL Pay: Eligible employees receive full, taxable wages while on approved DL, up to the amount of DL hours approved, depending on the number of hours employees actually missed from work on the day(s) DL was granted.
- DL Benefit Coverage: A maximum of 180 calendar days, unless extended by a collective bargaining agreement.
Disability Leave Resources and Forms
- Disability Leave 2021 Update
- Disability Leave Frequently Asked Questions
- County Disability Leave vs. Maryland Workers' Compensation
Departmental Risk Coordinators (DRC) Resources and Forms
- Disability Leave Process At a Glance
- DRC Disability Leave Request and Review Process
- Checklist for Submission of Disability Leave Request
- Disability Review Authorization Form