ARTICLE 4.       BENEFIT AND LEAVE PROGRAMS                   EFFECTIVE DATE:  05/04/98
RULE 411.          FAMILY AND MEDICAL                                       REVISED DATE:
                             LEAVES OF ABSENCE   

A.    GENERAL: In accordance with the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) under 
        particular circumstances that are critical to the life of a family, up to 12 weeks of leave of absence 
        may be granted to eligible employees in a rolling 12 month period of time measured backward from 
        the date the employee uses any FMLA leave (not extended back before Au- gust 5, 1993). The 
        Court reserves the right to change the method of calculating the 12-month period in accordance with 
        the FMLA.

B.    DEFINITIONS:

        1.    Child: A son or daughter who is a biological, adopted, or foster child, stepchild, le- gal ward, 
                or a child of a person acting in the capacity of parent provided the child is under 18 years of age, 
                or over 18 years of age but unable to care for themselves be- cause of a physical or mental 
                disability.

        2.    Continuing Treatment: Treatment of an injury or illness by, or under the orders of a health care 
                provider: 1) two or more times; or 2) on at least one occasion which results in a regimen of 
                continuing treatment under the supervision of the health care provider, such as a regimen of 
                medication or physical therapy. Continuing treatment also includes the continuing supervision by 
                a health care provider of a chronic or long-term condition or disability which cannot be cured, 
                such as terminal cancer.

        3.    Health Care Provider: Includes: 1) any doctor of medicine or osteopathy authorized to practice 
               medicine or surgery by the state of Arizona; or 2) any other person determined by the Secretary 
               of Labor of be capable of providing health care services. This definition includes podiatrists, 
               dentists, clinical psychologists, optometrists, chiropractors (limited to treatment consisting of 
               manual manipulation of the spine to correct a sublaxation as demonstrated by x-ray), nurse 
               practitioners, nurse midwives and Christian Scientist practitioners.

        4.    Intermittent Leave: Leave taken in separate blocks of time for the same serious health condition.

        5.    Parent: Any person who is the biological parent of the employee or a person that acted in the 
               capacity of parent towards the employee when the employee was a child.

        6.    Reduced Leave Schedule: A schedule that reduces an employee's usual number of hours per 
               workweek or workday.

        7.    Serious Health Condition: Any illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that 
               involves: 1) a period of incapacity or treatment in connection with inpatient care; 2) a period of 
               incapacity requiring absence from work for more than three days and that involves continuing 
               treatment by, or under the supervision of, a health care provider; or 3) continuing treatment for 
               prenatal care or for a chronic or long-term condition that is incurable or so serious that it would 
               likely result in a period of incapacity or more than three days if not treated. Serious Health 
               Condition does not include voluntary or cosmetic treatments that are not medically necessary, 
               unless the treatments require inpatient care. Examples of serious health conditions include but is 
               not limited to: heart attacks or other serious heart conditions, back conditions requiring extensive 
               therapy or surgical procedures, severe respiratory conditions, appendicitis, emphysema, severe 
               nervous disorders, injuries caused by serious accidents on or off the job, most cancers, 
               pneumonia, severe morning sickness, ongoing pregnancy, miscarriages, complications or illnesses 
               related to pregnancy, childbirth, and recovery from childbirth.

        8.    Spouse: Husband or wife.

C.    ELIGIBILITY: In accordance with the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA), employees 
        are eligible for family and medical leave if they: 1) have worked for the Superior Court and/or Mohave 
        County for at least 12 months (not necessarily consecutive work periods); and 2) have worked for the 
        Superior Court and/or Mohave County for at least 1250 hours in the previous 12 month period 
        immediately before the date when the leave would begin.

D.    TYPES OF FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE:

        1.    Employee Medical Leave of Absence: Employees who are unable to work because of a serious 
                health condition as defined in Section (B)(7) above, and who need to take leave, may be granted 
                an employee medical leave of absence. Employees are required to provide certification of their 
                need for employee medical leave, both before the leave begins and on a periodic basis thereafter, 
                by the employee's health care provider.

        2.    Parental Leave of Absence: Female employees, when not disabled by pregnancy or childbirth, 
                and male employees, may be granted a parental leave of absence to care for a child upon birth 
                or upon placement for adoption or foster care. Leave taken for the birth or placement for 
                adoption of foster care of a child must be completed within 12 months of the child's birth 
                or placement. If both the husband and wife are employees of the Court and/or Mohave County, 
                their combined leave is limited to 12 workweeks for the birth or placement in order to care for 
                a newly arrived child.

        3.    Family Care Leave of Absence: Employees may be granted a family care leave of absence for 
               the purpose of caring for a child, spouse, or parent who has a serious health condition. 
                Employees are required to provide certification of the family member's serious health condition, 
                both before the leave begins and on a periodic basis, by the family member's health care provider. 
                If both the husband and wife are employees of the Court and/or Mohave County, each spouse is 
                entitled to 12 weeks of leave in order to care for their spouse or child's serious health condition. 
                If both the husband and wife are employees of the Court and/or Mohave County, their combined 
                leave is limited to 12 workweeks to care for a seriously ill parent.

E.    LEAVE REQUESTS AND APPROVAL:

        1.    When possible, requests for leave of absence or any extension of a leave should be submitted to 
                the Division Head on forms available through the Court Administrator's Office thirty (30) days 
                prior to commencement of the leave period, or as soon as is practicable. The Division Head shall 
                forward the request to the Court Administrator recommending approval or denial. The final 
                decision concerning the request shall be governed by the provisions of the Family Medical Leave 
                Act.

        2.    Employees who request foreseeable intermittent leave or a reduced leave schedule based on 
                planned treatment, must make a reasonable effort to schedule the treatment so as not to disrupt 
                unduly the operations of the division.

        3.    All employees on approved leave are expected to report in writing periodically to their Division 
                Head on their status and intention to return to work.

F.    CERTIFICATION:

        1.    Employees who require leave for their own or a family member's serious health condition must 
               provide medical certification (on a form provided by the Court Administrator) of the serious health 
               condition within 15 days after their request for leave or as soon as possible after the request has 
               been made. The Presiding Judge may require a second or third opinion (at the division's expense), 
               periodic re-certifications of the serious health condition, and, when leave is a result of the 
               employee's own serious health condition, a fitness for duty report to return to work.

        2.     Certification of the serious health condition shall include: the date when the condition began, its 
                expected duration, diagnosis, and a brief statement of treatment. For medical leave for the 
                employee's own medical condition, the certification must also include a statement that the 
                employee is unable to perform work of any kind or a statement that the employee is unable to 
                perform the essential functions of the employee's position. For a seriously ill family member, the 
                certification must include a statement that the patient requires assistance and that the employee's 
                presence would be beneficial or desirable.

        3.     If employees fail to provide the proper certification within the applicable time frame, the Division 
                Head or Court Administrator may deny the leave until the certification is provided.

G.    UTILIZATION OF EIB CREDITS AND PTO LEAVE:

        1.    Employee Medical Leave: Employees on employee medical leave of absence will be required to 
                utilize all accrued PTO, compensatory, and EIB credits accruals towards the 12 week FMLA 
                entitlement. Employees who take paid PTO or EIB credits for a condition that progresses into a 
                serious health condition and the employee requests unpaid leave as provided under this Rule, shall 
                be required to designate all or some portion of the related PTO, compensatory, and/or EIB credits 
                taken as leave under the FMLA, to the extent that the earlier leave meets the necessary 
                requirements.

        2.    Family Care Leave: Employees on family care or parental leave of absence shall be required to 
                utilize all PTO and compensatory leave and/or allowable EIB credits while on such leave of 
                absence.

H.    INTERMITTENT OR REDUCED LEAVE: FMLA leaves of absence may be taken intermittently 
        or on a reduced schedule when medically necessary in increments of 15 minutes. Intermittent or 
        reduced leaves may not be taken because of the birth or placement of a child. If the need for 
        intermittent leave or a reduced leave schedule is foreseeable based on planned medical treatment, 
        employees must make a reasonable effort to schedule the treatment so as to not disrupt unduly the 
        operations of the division. Employees must also provide 30 days advance notice or, if the treatment is 
        in less than 30 days, provide such notice as practicable. Employees may be required to transfer 
        temporarily to an alternative position with equivalent pay and benefits that better accommodates 
        recurring period of leave than the employee's regular position.

I.    DENIAL OF LEAVE: The Division Head or Court Administrator may deny leave to employees who 
       do not provide proper advance leave notice or medical certification.

J.    INSURANCE COVERAGE:

        1.    During such time while on FMLA leave, that portion of the employee's health and life insurance 
                premiums borne by the Court shall continue to be paid by the Court.

        2.    Employees who wish to continue dependent health coverage and any supplemental health 
                insurance policies during an FMLA approved leave must contact the Benefits Division of the 
                Mohave County Personnel Department to arrange for the payment of premiums.

        3.    If an employee gives unequivocal notice that he/she will not return to work, the Court's obligation 
               to continue health benefits (except as required by COBRA) and to reinstate the employee ceases.

        4.    The Court may recover any health insurance premiums paid on the employee's behalf, during the 
               unpaid portion of FMLA leave, from those employees who do not return to work from an unpaid 
               FMLA leave, unless the employee fails to return as a result of the continuation, recurrence or onset 
               of a serious health condition or some other reason beyond the employee's control. The Court may 
               recover payments from any unpaid wages due the employee, subject to federal and minimum wage 
               and state deduction laws, or by initiating legal action against the employee.

K.    RETURN TO WORK:

        1.    Except for certain employees in highly compensated key positions defined in Section 3 below,     
                employees returning from a leave of absence will be reinstated to their same job or to an 
                equivalent job with equivalent pay, benefits and working conditions, including the same or 
                substantially similar duties and responsibilities which require substantially equivalent skill, effort, 
                responsibility and authority. If the same job or one of equivalent status and pay is not available 
                as a result of a reduction in force, the employee will be treated in the same manner as though 
                he/she were not on leave at the time of the reduction in force.

         2.    Employees returning from an employee medical leave of absence must provide certification of their
                ability to perform the material duties and essential functions of their job.

        3.    Salaried employees in the highest paid ten percent of the Court's workforce may be denied 
               reinstatement when necessary to prevent "substantial and grievous economic injury" to the Court's 
               operations.

        4.    An employee who returns to work for at least 30 calendar days is considered to have returned to 
                work.

L.    FAILURE TO RETURN TO WORK: If an employee fails to return to work at the conclusion of the 
        approved leave of absence, including any extension of such leave, the employee will be considered to 
        resign in accordance with Rule 409(C).

M.   GENERAL PROVISIONS:

        1.    PTO leave shall accrue during an approved FMLA leave of absence with pay.

        2.    PTO leave shall not accrue during an approved FMLA leave of absence without pay when such 
                leaves have a duration of one or more pay periods.

        3.    Employees who are on a paid FMLA status who are utilizing either PTO leave or EIB credits are 
                entitled pay for holidays. Employees who are on an unpaid FMLA and who are considered to be 
                not actively at work are not entitled to receive pay for holidays.

        4.    An approved FMLA leave of absence is not considered a break in Judicial service for purposes of 
                vesting and eligibility to participate in a retirement plan.

        5.    Employees who are on an approved FMLA leave of absence may not perform work for any other 
                employer during that leave.