Here you’ll find a list of frequently asked questions and answers about leaves of absence.

Leave of absence (LOA) is the overall term that applies to extended time away from work (3 or more days) that is separate from vacation, paid time off (PTO), flexible time off (FTO) or sick pay.

Albertsons provides the non-work-related leaves listed below. Click on a leave of absence for more information.

Be sure to talk to your manager about your leave of absence as soon as you know you will be requesting a leave.

There are two ways to request a leave of absence:

  • The quickest and easiest way to request a leave is to submit a request via myACI > My HR > Leave of Absence.
  • If you are unable to submit your leave request via myACI, call the Associate Experience Center at 888-255-2269 option 6.

IMPORTANT: You are also responsible for following normal absence reporting policies for your location.

FMLA stands for Family and Medical Leave Act which is a law that provides associates up to 12 weeks of leave with job protection and benefits protection in a specified 12-month period for medical and family reasons. To be eligible, you must have worked for Albertsons for more than 12 months and for at least 1,250 hours in the 12 months before your leave begins.

Once you request a leave of absence, a CLT Administrator is assigned who will manage your leave request from beginning to end, including:

  • Leave adjudication (approval or denial)
  • Communicates with you, Human Resources and your manager or supervisor
  • Facilitates a smooth return to work process
  • Closes the leave claim upon your return to work

Contact information for your CLT Administrator was included in the initial email that was sent to you after you submitted a request for a leave of absence. If you did not include an email address at the time you requested a leave or you are unable to located the email with the CLT Administrator’s contact information, call the Associate Experience Center (AEC) at 888-255-2269, option 6 for assistance.

The Certification of Healthcare Provider Form must be completed by you and your doctor and submitted for your own medical leave or pregnancy and childbirth leave to certify your medical or pregnancy disability. The form should also be completed by your family member’s doctor if you are taking a care of a family member leave.

The Healthcare Provider Status Form must be completed by you and your doctor immediately prior to your return to work. The completed form should indicate if you are able to return to work with no restrictions or if any specific restrictions are required. This form only applies for your own medical leave.

If you are a union associate and you are not on Company-provided health and welfare benefits, contact your union trust for information on how to maintain your benefits while on leave.

Health and welfare benefits will be maintained during any period of approved FMLA or qualifying state leave, provided you continue to pay your share of health and welfare plan premiums. Benefits may also be maintained during certain periods of other approved leaves.

If you are getting paid from available sick pay, paid time off, vacation, flexible time off or personal/floating holidays, your regular paycheck deductions for benefits will continue. If you are on a medical or pregnancy and childbirth leave and your Short-Term Disability (STD) claim is approved by The Hartford, the STD payments will be included on your regular paycheck and deductions for benefits will continue.

During any unpaid portion of your leave, or if STD, paid time off, vacation, flexible time off, personal/floating holidays or sick pay payments are not adequate to deduct your share of the benefit premiums, you will be enrolled in monthly direct billing through HealthEquity. To maintain your benefits, you must make after-tax payments to HealthEquity by the time frame indicated in your HealthEquity information. Failure to make the payments required to HealthEquity by the time frames indicated will result in a loss of coverage retroactive to the last day in which the associate contributions for benefits were paid in full.

More information on what happens to your benefits while you are on an approved leave is available here.

Your benefits will end after 26 weeks or 52 weeks on a leave of absence (depending on the policy that applies to you), or earlier, if you fail to make required timely payments to HealthEquity to maintain your benefits. You may be able to continue some benefits through COBRA or convert other benefits depending on options available through the insurance carriers.

An immediate family member for the purposes of a Care of Family Member leave of absence is your:

  1. Spouse
  2. Parent
  3. Child under age 18
  4. Child age 18 or older and incapable of self-care because of a physical or mental disability

If you work in CA, CO, CT, DC, HI, MA, NJ, NY, OR, RI or WA, check with your state disability insurance or paid family/medical leave website for additional family members that may be covered in your state.

You should try to notify your manager at least 30 days prior to your leave (when possible). Try to give your manager as much notice as possible.

No, you are not eligible for holiday pay while out on a continuous leave.

Contact the Benefits Service Center at 888-255-2269, press 2 then press 2 again to speak with a Benefits Service Center Agent to learn what you need to do to add you child to your benefits.

When on a leave, you may be eligible for multiple leaves, such as FMLA, Disability or similar state leaves, which may “run concurrently,” or at the same time, as allowed by state law. Leaves, benefits or pay that run concurrently do not extend your entitlement under any of the relevant programs.

Approved FMLA leave may be continuous (taken on a full time basis), intermittent if medically necessary (taken in periods) or in the form of a reduced work schedule (fewer work hours per day or days per week),

Neither accrued but unused vacation pay or PTO can be taken to extend any FMLA or similar state leave law to which you may be entitled. You may seek approval to take available vacation or PTO at the end of your leave in the ordinary course of business, subject to the usual approval process and taking into account business-related factors such as scheduling and support levels.

If you experience a work-related injury, inform your manager or HR Representative as soon as possible. An incident will be reported on your behalf. If you require medical attention once an incident has been reported, you can contact Sedgwick, our administrator for work-related accidents, injuries and illnesses. Sedgwick can provide additional direction and answer any questions you may have and can be reached at 800-854-6188 M-F 9 am-5:30 pm MT.

If you will be off from work, you must also file a leave request in myACI with the Centralized Leave Team. You can also contact the Associate Experience Center at 888-255-2269 option 6 to file a leave request.

No. You will not receive holiday pay for company-recognized holidays while you are on leave.

The following states offer state disability insurance or paid family/medical leave:

  • California
  • Colorado
  • Connecticut
  • District of Columbia
  • Hawaii
  • Massachusetts
  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • Oregon
  • Rhode Island
  • Washington

If you work in one of the states listed above that offer state disability or paid family/medical leave, you will need to file for state benefits. More information is available here.