Leaves of Absence

Illness and unexpected events happen to all of us.  In addition to available paid leave time, it’s important to know that Federal law allows eligible employees to take unpaid time away from work to care for their own or family member’s injury/illness.  Simon also offers Disability Insurance benefits to cover partial pay in the event an employee is unable to work for a qualifying reason and meets eligibility requirements.

 Leave of Absence Process: FMLA-covered leave coordination, Disability benefit claims, and related documentation is now administered by our third-party provider, UNUM.

Employee’s must notify their supervisor and HR of the need to take leave, AND contact UNUM at 866.779.1054 (or visit unum.com) to submit a leave request and/or file a Short-Term Disability and Family Medical Leave claim in the event one of the following applies:

• an employee’s health care provider has determined they are unable to work due to illness, injury, or pregnancy;
• the employee needs to care for a family member with a serious health condition;
• the employee needs to care for a child following birth, adoption, or foster care placement;
• the employee needs to be absent from work for a qualifying exigency leave because a spouse, child, or parent is on covered military duty; OR
• any other type of leave is required that is covered under applicable federal or state law.

Returning from Leave: Employees returning from any medical leave may be required to provide a work release from their primary care provider.  In addition, all employees are required to complete a pre-employment drug screen prior to returning from any leave of 30 days or more; DOT Drivers/CDL holders must also satisfy FMCSA pre-employment requirements, including an MVR review and query of the FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse.