The Family & Medical Leave Act (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 if the employee had not taken leave.
So who is eligible for FMLA?
Employers are eligible to take FMLA leave if they have worked for their employer for at least 12 months, and have worked at least 1250 hours over the previous 12 months, and work at a location where at least 50 employees are employed by the employer within 75 miles.
Eligible employees can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for the following reasons:
– The birth of a child or placement of a child for adoption or foster care;
– To bond with a child (leave must be taken within 1 year of the child’s birth or placement);
– To care for the employee’s spouse, child, or parent who has a qualifying serious health condition;
– For the employee’s own qualifying serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the employee’s job;
– For qualifying exigencies related to the foreign deployment of a military member who is the employee’s spouse, child, or parent.
An eligible employee who is a covered service member’s spouse, child, parent, or next of kin may also take up to 26 weeks of FMLA leave in a single 12-month period to care for the service members with a serious injury or illness.
The DOL recently released an April 2016 version of the FMLA poster that covered employers are required to display in a conspicuous place where employees and applicants can see it. The February 2013 version of the FMLA poster is still valid and can be used to fulfill the posting requirement. To view the 2016 version, click here.
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