Frequently Asked Questions

• See here: How to Read your MUNIS Pay Advice

• Refer to your CBA salary grid.
• Take your gross pay and multiply by 21 or 26 weeks to get your matching salary on the grid.

• Take your gross pay and multiply by 21 or 26 weeks to get your matching salary on the grid.
• Or email the HR department

• Lane changes are processed twice a year: September and February (after any salary increases have been processed)
• You can submit your cover letter request and all official transcripts at any time but will not be processed until September or February.
• Please submit all credits towards your lane change request all together.

• If you are contracted through a union, please refer to your CBA. Your salary is contracted by the number of work days required to work in your position. This does not include holidays, snow days, and summer vacation. Although these days are not contracted in your salary,  you will still receive a paycheck throughout these weeks as your salary is spread out over the 42 weeks of the school year or 52 weeks over the summer.
• If you are in an unaffiliated (non-union) position, please refer to your individual contract.

The FMLA entitles eligible employees of covered employers to 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. FMLA is governed by federal law, state law, and your collective bargaining agreement (if applicable). If there is a conflict between the governing policies and a specific Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Collective Bargaining Agreement shall prevail.

The City of Lowell has not opt into PFML. Any leaves of absences under FMLA will be paid through the employee’s accruals (sick time, personal time, and vacation time if applicable). If at any time, the employee has exhausted their accrued time and is off payroll, the employee is responsible for 100% of health insurance coverage costs.

In order to qualify for FMLA, you must meet the following requirements:

• Is a full-time employee
• Has worked in the district in a full-time capacity within the last 12 months
• Has worked 1,250 hours in a full-time capacity within the last 12 months.

• Leaves of absence for a medical condition for yourself: you can apply for an extended sick leave request that will allot you the number of sick days accrued as of January 1 of the calendar year you are applying FMLA for. Once your extended sick days have been exhausted, you can request donated days from your union in addition to your extended sick days bank.
  
  i.e. Initial FMLA approved 11/2024 (26 sick days);
  *Extended Sick Days as of January 1, 2024 (12 sick days)
  *Donated sick days (10 days)
  Total sick days to cover leave: 48
  
  If you still do not have enough days to cover your entire 60-day leave, you can opt to spread out your total sick days to remain on payroll (i.e. 48 sick days/ spread out 4 days/week over 12 weeks).
  
  *Extended and donated days are only added to the amount of time needed for the medical leave. Any unused days will not remain in your accruals or roll over into the following year. Intermittent leave does not qualify for extended or donated sick day requests.

• Leaves of absence for Parental Leave: The UTL and LSAA have approved 2 weeks (10 days) of parental paid leave without using sick time. Positions outside of the UTL or LSAA must be approved through the HR office for the 2 weeks. Extended sick leave requests are not eligible under parental leave/ bonding with your child. Request for donated days will go through your union.
• Leaves of absence for caring for a family member: Extended sick leave requests are not eligible under FMLA for a family member.

• If you remain on payroll, and have enough sick days to cover your deductions, your insurance will continue as normal.
• If you are off payroll at any time or do not have enough money to cover your deductions, you are responsible for 100% of health insurance costs. Please reach out to City Hall’s HR Office to set up a payment plan or for other options.
  • City of Lowell HR Office
    375 Merrimack Street Basement, Room 19 Lowell, MA 01852
    Phone: 978-674-4105 | Fax: 978-446-7102
    Email: HRbenefits@lowellma.gov
    
    Hours: