TIME OFF & LEAVES

Leaves of Absence

Bereavement Leave
You may take up to three consecutive working days of paid bereavement leave for the death of the following relatives:

• Spouse
• Domestic Partner
• Child
• Father or mother
• Brother or sister (including step and half siblings)
• Grandparent of associate or associate's spouse
• Grandchild
• Mother-in-law or father-in-law
• Sister-in-law or brother-in-law
• Daughter-in-law or son-in-law
• The step relationship and domestic partner relationship for
  each of the above family members is included

Bereavement leave will be paid at your base rate. The amount of the payment will be based on the number of hours in your regular work schedule. Pay received for bereavement leave does not count as hours worked toward the determination of overtime pay. Associates will be paid for scheduled workdays lost typically for visitation, to attend the funeral, and, if needed, a day to take care of immediate family business. In certain circumstances, an associate may require additional time for grieving or to attend to family business. In these situations an associate may utilize vacation time and/or apply for a personal leave of absence. Associates may use vacation time to attend the visitation or funeral service for someone not included in the above list. Associates on any type of leave of absence are not eligible for bereavement pay.

Maternity / Paternity Leave (MAP)
If you are a new parent through the birth of a child, full-time associates are eligible for one week paid leave after the birth. You must take your leave in a one-week increment within three months after the birth. Valassis Communications, Inc. and NCH associates paid through the ADP Payroll system should contact your local HR Representative for assistance. Valassis Direct Mail and Sales and Marketing associates paid through the PeopleSoft payroll system should contact the Associate Resource Center at 1-877-238-6847 to initiate MAP leave.

Adoption Leave and Adoption Subsidy
If you are a new parent through adoption, full-time associates are eligible for two weeks paid leave after the adoption. You must take your leave in one-week increments within three months after the adoption. Valassis Communications, Inc. and NCH associates paid through the ADP Payroll system should contact your local HR Representative for assistance. Valassis Direct Mail and Sales and Marketing associates paid through the PeopleSoft payroll system should contact the Associate Resource Center at 1-877-238-6847 for assistance.

Valassis provides you with an adoption subsidy of $5,000 if you adopt a child. Adoptions eligible for the subsidy will include children under 18 years of age. Please link to the Adoption page for more information and to the Forms page for the required documentation.

Military Leave
Valassis follows all the requirements of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act and we provide greater pay than is required by law.

Any employee in a uniformed service (as defined by Federal law) is eligible for military leave for active duty, training, or certain disaster response duty. In order to qualify for military leave, you must give us notice of your service. This notice should be given as far in advance as possible to your supervisor and Human Resources. In most cases, the maximum amount of leave you may have is 5 years.

If your military service is active duty, we will supplement your pay by paying you the difference between your base pay at Valassis and your military pay (up to a maximum of 40 hours per week for non-exempt associates) for up to 6 months each year. For all other service, we will supplement your pay for up to 10 days each year. You must submit your military pay stubs to Human Resources so this supplement can be calculated. Time spent on leave does not apply towards hours worked in the calculation of overtime.

You will continue to receive benefits (including vacation time accruals) according to the various benefits plans for a period of up to 6 months when on military leave. Eligible family members may continue Valassis medical coverage for up to 6 months as long as your monthly contribution is paid during that period. If military service continues beyond the 6 months, you will be granted an unpaid leave for up to a cumulative total of five years, unless you meet one of the exceptions as defined by USERRA. COBRA continuation will be offered for an additional 18 months, for a total of 24 months of coverage.

An associate returning from military service of less than 31 days is expected to return to Valassis by the next regularly scheduled shift upon completion of an eight-hour rest period following safe transportation home. An associate returning from military leave for more than 30 days but less than 181 days must submit an application for re-employment within 14 days after completing service. If the associate does not apply for reinstatement within 14 days, the military service leave will end and the associate will be terminated. An associate returning from military leave for more than 180 days must submit an application for re-employment within 90 days after completing service. If the associate does not apply for reinstatement within 90 days, the military leave will end and the associate will be terminated.

Upon returning to Valassis, an associate returning from military service leave will be placed in the same or similar position at the same or higher grade level with all applicable benefits reinstated (without loss of service or seniority), as the associate would have attained with reasonable certainty if not for the absence due to uniformed service. If the associate is disabled during military service and cannot perform the duties of the position, he/she may be entitled to a comparable position he/she is qualified to perform, as determined by Valassis.

The reinstatement provisions do not apply if:

• An associate is separated from service under circumstances where he/she loses reinstatement rights (such as dishonorable discharge) or voluntarily remains on active duty for longer than a cumulative total of 5 years
• Prior notice of the service was not given
• The associate return or application for reinstatement did not take place in a timely manner after the conclusion of military service
• Reinstatement of the associate to a given position would cause undue hardship for Valassis
• It becomes impossible or unreasonable to reinstate the associate due to workforce reductions
• Valassis ceases business

Personal Leave
If you have been continuously employed by Valassis for at least 30 days, you may request an unpaid 30-day leave for a serious personal situation. You must request the personal leave in writing and get the approval of your manager, appropriate vice president and Human Resources department. You may apply for the extended leave in 30-day increments, up to a maximum of 90 days, provided you apply before the expiration of your leave.

Before taking personal leave, you must use your accrued vacation time and Diversity/Volunteer Day, and you must pay any benefits plan contribution costs for the entire personal leave. You will not be eligible for holiday pay during the leave, and the time on leave is not considered as time worked toward vacation accruals.

You must notify your manager of your expected return date at least one week before the scheduled return date; failure to return to work on that date will be considered a voluntary resignation. If you misrepresent your reasons for requesting a personal leave, you will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination.

When returning from personal leave, you will be offered your original position, if available. If the position is not available, you may apply for any open positions for which you are qualified. If no appropriate position is available or if you refuse the alternate position, it will be considered a voluntary resignation (effective on the date of refusal).

Family/Medical Leave
In accordance with federal regulations under the Family and Medical Leave Act, you are eligible for up to 12 weeks of family/medical leave (FML) during a 12-month period. Associates are eligible for FML if they have worked for Valassis for at least 12 months and worked at least 1,250 hours in the 12-month period before FML begins. The 12-month leave year period is measured backward from the date an associate uses any FML leave. The available leave will be the balance of the 12-week allowance which has not been used during the preceding 12 months. State regulations may make you eligible for additional time off for FMLA considerations.

FML may be used for:

• Your own serious health condition that prevents you from working;
• The birth and care of your newborn child or newly placed adopted or foster child within 12 months of the birth or placement; and
• The care of your spouse, dependent child or parent with a serious health condition.
• Eligible assocaites with a spouse, son, daughter, or parent on active duty or called to active duty status in the National Guard or Reserves in support of a contingency operation may use their 12-week leave entitlement to address certain qualifying exigencies.
• FMLA aslo includes a special leave entitlement that permits eligible associates to take up to 26 weeks of leave to care for a covered servicemember durinjg a single 12-month period.

FML is unpaid leave; however, you are required to use your accrued vacation, Diversity/Volunteer day, and paid sick time or Short-term Disability if applicable for as much of the leave period as possible. When you use such paid leave, Valassis is then required to provide only enough unpaid leave to combine with the paid leave to reach a total of 12 weeks in the 12-month period.

Benefits
Your health care and life insurance benefits continue during FML as if you had remained at work. During a paid portion of the leave, all employee contributions continue through payroll deduction. If you are on disability for your own serious medical condition and your leave is extended past the FML period due to medical necessity as defined under the Short-term Disability Program, your health care benefits (medical, dental and Health Care Spending Account), life insurance benefits and disability benefits will continue through the disability period as if you were at work. If you are on an unpaid leave, the company will work with you to determine payment options to collect miss premiums.

Returning to Work
Upon completion of an FML and in accordance with applicable laws, an associate will be reinstated to the position he/she held immediately prior to taking a leave, or a similar one, unless the associate would not otherwise have been employed at the time reinstatement is requested, or in the case of certain "key" associates.

If you are away from work for more than the 12-week period allowed for Family/Medical leave, the job restoration period is not extended.

As associate's FML and accompanying benefits will terminate under the following circumstances.

• The employment relationship would have terminated if the associate had not taken FML;
• The associate informs the company of intent not to return from leave;
• The associate fraudulently obtains FML; or
• The associate fails to return from leave or continues on leave after exhausting his/her FML entitlement, unless permission for an extension of leave has been granted by the company in writing.

Integration of Workers Compensation and Family/Medical Leave
Workers Compensation may be designated as a family/medical leave (provided the qualifications are met) and may run concurrently with family/medical leave. If the health care provider treating you certifies that you are able to return to "light/modified duty" but are unable to return to the same or equivalent job, you may decline and remain on unpaid family/medical leave. However, if you refuse such modified duty, Valassis may suspend Workers Compensation benefits (subject to state law restriction).

Associates paid through the ADP Payroll system should contact your local HR Representative for assistance. Associates paid through the PeopleSoft payroll system should contact the Associate Resource Center for assistance.

Jury Duty
Valassis provides paid time off when you must serve on jury duty or are subpoenaed to appear in court to provide testimony (unless you are a personal party to the litigation), if you submit the court order to your immediate manager before the beginning of jury duty or the court appearance. If your service or court appearance lasts for less than half your normal work day or the time to serve is reduced, the company expects you to return to work.

Often, jurors will receive a nominal fee per day from the court for service. If this occurs, associates do not need to turn the money into the company and regular wages will not be reduced for the day based on this income. While serving on jury duty, you will receive salary continuation from the company.