New leave policy for families relieves stress

In 1991 Amy Roach's son Jared was born with an unexpected neural tube defect, an extremely rare variant of spina bifida. After surgery, he spent the better part of Roach's maternity leave at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Soon after, Jared developed hydrocephalous and needed a shunt placed in his head to correct inner-cranial pressure.

In early 1995, Jared developed a seizure disorder and his shunt needed a surgical revision. Last fall Jared began special education preschool.


By taking Fridays off of work this summer, Amy Roach is able to continue occupational therapy activities with her sone Jared.
The time spent away from work continued to build as did the family's daily stresses.

This year, a few days prior to the family's departure for a spring vacation, seven-year-old Becky caught a strep infection, which rapidly became serious: the germ lodged in her legs and nearly began to "eat away" at her skin. Complicated by a penicillin allergy, Becky was in the hospital for 8 days. Jared caught strep as well and had a seizure in school, which earned him an ambulance ride to the emergency room.

"I had worked as hard as I could to plan for Jared's emergencies," says Roach, a graphic designer in University Relations Publications. "But Becky's illness really took my husband and me by surprise. I was stressed enough that I needed to stop and take a rest. Something had to give, and the decision was that it was going to be my work."

Roach finally turned to the one hope for reprieve she had at her disposal-the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

For most University employees, the FMLA went into effect in August 1994 (see box at left). In general, the FMLA requires employers to grant eligible employees up to 12 weeks of leave each year for the following:

  • the birth and first-year care of a child,
  • the adoption or foster placement of a child in the employee's home,
  • the care of a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition, or
  • the employee's own serious medical condition.

Roach requested to use some of her FMLA benefits this summer to take Fridays off to take Jared to a private occupational therapist. Both Jared's pediatrician and occupational therapist at University Hospital School felt that fine motor skills are a particularly weak area for Jared, enough so that he should not go without therapy during the summer.

After taking a few hints from his sister, Jared prectices shaping Play-Doh into small "roll-ups."
 In addition to the hour session with a therapist, Roach follows up with similar activities at home. To improve fine motor and eye-to-hand coordination skills, Jared works on cutting, coloring, painting, puzzles, using tongs, and squeezing clothespins.

"We're also doing sensory integration and motor planning activities with him. That's a new area for me," she says. "I've learned about how the brain functions, about hydro-cephalous, seizures, drug allergies, and now this. We're learning how to learn, in order to figure out how to teach him to learn. It ought to be worth it though. Early intervention has the highest success rate, and Jared should be able to be included in a regular kindergarten class.

"Jared does require a lot of extra work, and we try to include it as part of our regular routine," she says. "I really enjoy my job, but this year, with all of the extra things happening to us, I've needed to ask for a break."

Roach says the ability to take FMLA time off is a comfort.

"For most of us, our health insurance is tied to our jobs. It's a relief to know you won't lose your job during a crisis, when you need it most," she says.

"I'm very fortunate that my employer supports me in raising my family, even if my family needs more raising than others," Roach says.

by Lesanne B. Fliehler

A few details of the Family Medical Leave Act policy at Iowa

To be eligible for an FMLA leave, University employees must have worked for the University for at least 12 months and have worked at least 1,250 hours during the year preceding the start of the leave (60 percent time appointment over a year or the equivalent in time worked). The University uses the calendar year for purposes of calculating the maximum FMLA entitlement of 12 weeks per year.

Employees may use sick leave or vacation to remain in pay status during the period of leave, to the extent available under existing University policy. Employees should decide whether or not to remain in pay status during the period of FMLA leave, by utilizing accrued benefits.

Following the period of FMLA leave, University employees are entitled to reinstatement to the same position held prior to the leave or to an equivalent position with respect to pay, terms, and conditions of employment.

The intent of the FMLA is consistent with the existing University policy regarding family and parental leave.

For additional information regarding the qualification for and use of FMLA leave, contact your supervisor, departmental administrator, dean's office, the Office of Staff Relations for staff at University Hospitals, (35)6-2008, or Kevin Ward, Employment Relations, 105 Jessup Hall, (33)5-0052, kevin-ward@uiowa.edu.