The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 is a federal labor law that requires employers to provide employees with job-protected, unpaid leave for specified family and medical reasons. During these periods, employees must be permitted to continue their group health insurance coverage under the same terms and condition as if the employee had not taken leave.
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Wage and Hour Division, says eligible employes are entitled to:
- Twelve workweeks of leave in a 12-month period for:
- the birth of a child and to care for the newborn child within one year of birth;
- the placement with the employee of a child for adoption or foster care and to care for the newly placed child within one year of placement;
- to care for the employee’s spouse, child, or parent who has a serious health condition;
- a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the essential functions of his or her job;
- any qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that the employee’s spouse, son, daughter, or parent is a covered military member on “covered active duty;” or
- Twenty-six work weeks 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).
Employees are eligible for leave if they have worked for their employer for at least 12 months, at least 1,250 hours over the past 12 months, and work at a location where the company employs 50 or more employees within 75 miles.
Whether an employee has worked the minimum 1,250 hours of service is determined according to Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) principles for determining compensable hours or work.
Time taken off work due to pregnancy complications can be counted against the 12 weeks of family and medical leave.
Military family leave provisions, first added to the FMLA in 2008, provide FMLA protections specific to military families.Special rules apply to employees of local education agencies. The U.S. Department of Labor administers FMLA; however, the Office of Personnel Management administers FMLA for most federal employees.