Leaves of Absence
What is a leave of absence (LOA)?
It is an employee request for an extended time away from work. It can be mandatory, governed by federal and state laws, or voluntary, governed by a company’s internal policies. LOAs can be paid or unpaid, and they can be requested for a variety of reasons.
Types of Leaves available at Rack Room Shoes:
- Paid Parental – This leave is available to eligible employees for time to bond with their newborn or adopted child.
- Military – This leave is available for employees in Armed Services, the Reserves or the National Guard for periods of service.
- FMLA – This is a federal job protected unpaid leave for employees for their own medical condition or their qualified family member(s).
- Personal – An unpaid leave that an employee can request that requires manager approval, but cannot be requested for medical reasons.
- Workers Compensation – This is a leave created after an employee is injured on the job. It requires an in-store or on-site Accident Report to be created by the manager on duty.
- Short Term Disability – This is an employee elected income replacement leave that will run concurrent to FMLA eligible employees on an approved medical leave
- Long Term Disability – Occurs after the exhaustion of Short Term Disability.
Some states have state mandated STD plans. When you become disabled, notify Sunlife. They will coordinate your benefit with the state-mandated plan.
FAQs
Frequently asked Questions regarding Leaves and Disability Claims
Q: If I have a need for a leave, what should I do?
A: Contact the Benefits Team at Rack Room Shoes, benefits@rackroom.com to discuss your needs and to learn options with SunLife.
Q: If my leave is a Disability claim, how does disability insurance work?
A: When you can’t work for a period of time due to your own covered illness, injury or pregnancy, disability insurance replaces some of your income for a specified period of time. Payments may come directly to you (or someone you designate).
Q: How do I submit a disability claim?
A: Contact the Benefits Team at Rack Room Shoes, benefits@rackroom.com, on, or before, your first day out of work and let us know when and for how long you expect to be absent. Then, file your claim with Sun Life as soon as possible – before the end of the 7-day waiting period.
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You can file your claim in a few different ways:
- ONLINE at www.sunlife.com/account – click “Submit a claim.”
- BY PHONE at (888) 444-0239 Monday – Friday, 8:00am to 8:00pm ET.
Q: What information do you need when you submit my disability claim?
A: Please make sure you have the following information handy:
- Your Social Security number, birth date, home address, phone number, and email address.
- Dates and contact information for any health care providers or hospital/clinic visits.
- Any workers’ compensation claims you filed or plan to file for this condition.
- You will also be asked to provide the following information:
- Why you’re requesting an absence or workplace accommodation.
- Whether your absence request is for a continuous, intermittent or reduced schedule.
- Information about the treating healthcare provider(s).
- Dates expected to be absent from work, if applicable (estimated dates are ok).
Q: What happens after I submit my claim?
A: After Sun Life receives your claim, they will send you an acknowledgement packet that will contain: An acknowledgement letter, certification form, a Rights and Responsibilities notice (absence only), and instructions on next steps. You will need to complete the forms provided in your acknowledgement packet. You can send them back to us using the methods below. Please be sure to include your name and claim number (e.g. NTN-12345).
Online: www.sunlife.com/account (absence only)
Email: myclaimdocuments@sunlife.com
Fax: (781) 304-5599
Sun Life
P.O. Box 81915
Wellesley Hills, MA 02481
Q: How will I be kept updated on my claim status?
A: You can receive status updates for your claim online or by phone.
- Online: Log in at www.sunlife.com/account and click on “Track claim status”
- Phone: Call the toll-free number, (888) 444-0239 Monday – Friday, 8:00am to 8:00pm ET. When calling, please reference your claim number.
TIP: If you haven’t visited www.sunlife.com/account yet, now is a great opportunity. It’s easy to register and you can manage and track all your Group Benefit Solutions claims in one place. The Benefits department will contact you from the beginning of your leave to up to your return to work. If you have any questions during this time, please contact benefits@rackroom.com.
Company Holidays
All Full-time employees are eligible immediately for holiday pay for each of the following holidays:
- New Year’s Day
- MLK Day
- Good Friday
- Memorial Day
- Independence Day
- Labor Day
- Thanksgiving Day
- Christmas Day
Eligible employees will earn eight hours for each day listed above. Hours paid as holiday pay are not included in determining overtime hours and overtime pay.
Headquarters. When a holiday falls on Saturday or Sunday, the Friday before or the Monday after may be observed as the holiday and the headquarters may be closed. The selection will be made by the Management Team in the best interest of the Company.
Stores. Eligible employees will earn eight hours of time. This time will be deposited in their holiday “bank” for each holiday listed, regardless if the employee works that day or not. The employee can use the holiday hours at their convenience as a day off with approval. Holidays are “use it or lose it” and must be used by the end of the calendar year in which they are earned, or they will be forfeited.
If a store is closed on the holiday (typically Christmas and Thanksgiving), eight hours will be applied to eligible employee’s timecard and will be paid out on the pay period in which the holiday is observed.
For Store Managers the Christmas and Thanksgiving holiday hours will be added to the employee’s Holiday “bank” and may be carried over into the next calendar year.
Bereavement Leave
The Company understands the death of a family member is difficult to deal with and may require time away from work. Full-time and part-time employees will be paid for time not worked according to the following schedule:
- For the death of a spouse, domestic partner, children, parents, siblings, parents-in- law, stepparents, stepchildren and stepsiblings, daughter/son-in-law, and an adult who stood “in loco parentis” during an employee’s childhood: up to five consecutive business days.
- For the death of an aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, grandparent, grandchild, spouse’s grandparent, brother-in-law, and sister-in-law: up to three consecutive business days.
- For the death of any other close family member: one business day.
A part-time employee will be paid for the time missed based on the hours the employee was regularly scheduled to work, but not to exceed the above limits. Pay will be calculated using base pay only.
Allotted time off for bereavement leave is not charged against an employee’s PTO time. Bereavement time may be used in place of scheduled, active work hours, not to exceed a total of 40 hours in a given week (unless in California. California employees can use bereavement leave intermittently, so long as such leave is completed within three months).
If the employee needs additional time off, the employee may be eligible to use available PTO time or request an unpaid leave of absence.