Target leave of absence: how to start

How do you start a leave of absence at Target?

A leave of absence is approved time away from work for your own health condition or a pregnancy. Whether your job is protected while you're out depends on which law applies, and the sections below cover that.

1. 1

   Start in Target Pay & Benefits.

   Target's Team Member Services page links team members to Target Pay & Benefits. Begin there.

2. 2

   Read what the leave team sends.

   Leave paperwork comes from the Target Leave and Disability Team. Its letter tells you which forms it needs, when they're due and how to return them.

3. 3

   Get the provider's part completed.

   A licensed provider fills in the provider's part of the form. Certicare does this step.

4. 4

   Return it the way the letter says.

   Use the route and the date in your letter, not a date from somewhere else.

5. 5

   Keep every letter.

   Save each one with its date. If a letter says something is missing, the section on pending leave below explains what that means.

Target decides the leave. For Target's own rules and dates, go by your letters.

Are a Target leave, FMLA and short-term disability the same thing?

No. Job protection, time away and pay are three separate decisions, and a different rule answers each one.

FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act) is federal law. FMLA leave itself is unpaid, though accrued paid leave can run alongside it. Short-term disability is pay under a plan, a separate decision, and the same weeks can count against both.

Target's public benefits page lists paid time off, sick pay and paid family leave for eligible team members. The terms for you are in Target Pay & Benefits. The short-term disability vs FMLA guide sets the two side by side.

What if you don't qualify for FMLA at Target?

FMLA eligibility has three tests, and you need all three: an employer with 50 or more employees within 75 miles of your worksite, 12 months of employment, and 1,250 hours of service in the preceding 12 months. Passing them is necessary, not sufficient. The reason must also qualify as a serious health condition, and your employer designates the leave as FMLA leave.

Not qualifying doesn't end the question. The EEOC says an employer "must consider providing unpaid leave" to an employee with a disability who needs it, even when the employee isn't eligible under the employer's leave policy or has used it up. The ADA leave guide explains how to ask.

Short-term disability is its own decision, separate from FMLA. The plan terms for you are in Target Pay & Benefits.

What does the provider's part of your Target leave paperwork ask for?

The provider's part may arrive as an Attending Provider Statement, addressed to the Health Care Provider. The attending physician statement guide explains the form type.

A diagnosis isn't required on an FMLA certification. The Department of Labor says so directly, and the federal rule lists what is. For FMLA, the provider's part covers when the condition started, how long it's likely to last, the medical facts that support the leave, and whether you can do your job's essential functions.

If the provider already treating you will complete the form, that's the simplest route. Certicare is for when that isn't available, or not in time. A state-licensed provider completes and signs the provider's part of the form the Target Leave and Disability Team sent you, after an online evaluation, where the evaluation supports it.

Upload the form with your intake; usually no appointment. A provider may follow up for more detail before deciding. An evaluation doesn't mean a signature: the provider signs only what the evaluation supports. The completed form comes back to you by email, and you return it the way your letter says.

This service is for your own condition. For a family member, see family care leave forms.