FAMILY MEDICAL LEAVE ACT

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The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) guarantees certain employees up to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave each year with no threat of job loss. It also requires that employers covered by the law maintain the health benefits for eligible workers just as if they were working.

The Law

  • Family Medical Leave Act
  • 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.
  • The employee’s job must take place at a location where at least 50 employees work, or within 75 miles of such a location.
  • All public agencies must follow FMLA rules, including state, federal, and local employers, as well as schools.

Protected Individuals

  • Employees who work for an employer with 50 or more employees for at least 20 workweeks during the current or previous year.
  • The employee must work for the employer for a minimum of 12 months, and at least 1,250 hours during those 12 months, before taking leave under FMLA.

What the Law Protects

  • Covered employers must grant Twelve workweeks of leave in a 12-month period for FMLA leave to employees who cannot work because of a serious medical condition, the employee must care for an immediate family member that has a serious medical condition, the birth and/or subsequent care of the employee’s minor child (including adopted and foster).
  • Twenty-six workweeks of leave during a single 12-month period to care for a covered servicemember with a serious injury or illness if the eligible employee is the servicemember’s spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin (military caregiver leave).
  • FMLA doesn’t guarantee any paid leave.
  • If an employee is eligible for a bonus prior to taking FMLA leave, the employer can’t use the leave as a justification for denying the bonus. However, an employer doesn’t have to count the time on FMLA towards a bonus or any accrual of benefits or seniority.