FMLA

What is FMLA?

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) entitles eligible employees take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave. Eligible employees are entitled to:

• Twelve workweeks of leave in a 12-month period for:

  • the birth of a child and to care for the newborn child within one year of birth;

  • the placement with the employee of a child for adoption or foster care and to care for the newly placed child within one year of placement;

  • to care for the employee’s spouse, child, or parent who has a serious health condition;

  • a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the essential functions of his or her job;

  • any qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that the employee’s spouse, son, daughter, or parent is a covered military member on “covered active duty” or

• Twenty-six work weeks of leave during a single 12-month period to care for a covered service member with a serious injury or illness if the eligible employee is the servicemember’s spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin (military caregiver leave).

More information can be found on the Department of Labor's website.

Department Of Labor

How to apply for FMLA

To apply for FMLA an employee and their doctor must complete an FMLA packet. BNSF requires the employee to use the BNSF packet found on the Employee Portal. Copies of the different types of FMLA can be downloaded below. The packet consist of two parts, the Notice of Intent to Take FMLA which is to be filled out by the employee and the Certification of Health Care Provider which must be completed and faxed by the doctors office.

BNSF employees can take FMLA in one of tow ways, either continuous or intermittent. When approved for FMLA the employee will recieve a FMLA Approval Letter which will outline the leave that been approved. This will cover the number of events (layoffs) an employee can use and the duration of each event. FAILURE TO FOLLOW THE APPROVAL LETTER WILL RESULT IN DISCIPLINE CHARGES OF GCOR 1.6. BNSF ALSO WATCHES FOR PATTERNS OF USAGE AND WILL CALL AN INVESTIGATION IF THERE IS A PATTERN INCLUDING HOLIDAYS.

You are eligible if you meet all three of the following conditions:

• Have worked at BNSF for at least 12 months;

• Have performed at least 1,250 hours of service during the 12-month period immediately preceding the leave*; and

• Are an active employee who is not currently on a leave of furloughed

*Your hours will be automatically checked when you submit your Notice of Intent. You don't need to take action to determine your hours.

To apply for FMLA you will need to visit MyBNSFbenefits at the link below. All applications for FMLA must now be submitted on this website.
MyBNSFbenefits

For questions about FMLA or to check the status of a pending request contact BNSF Employee Services.
Email: LeavesAdmin@bnsf.com
Phone: (817) 352-3371
Fax: (817) 867-5759

FMLA Hours Calculation (Legal Opinion)

Linked below is a legal opinion that was written regarding  how BNSF calculates time worked and time used for purposes of the Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA"). This document explains how BNSF calculates the amount of FMLA hours granted and how the amount of hours deducted when FMLA is used.

FMLA Legal Opinion (02/17/10) 

FMLA Dashboard

You can access your current and FMLA requests by using the link below, you will need MobilePass+ to access this website. Once open click on the My FMLA Dashboard and you can see all FMLA requests and download any documents associated with the request.

ftsempessview.bnsf.com/reqSummary