Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

Effective January 16, 2009, new regulations released by Department of Labor (DOL) regarding FMLA become effective.  Listed below is information regarding FMLA.  The published verision of the regulations can be found here: http://www.dol.gov/federalregister/PdfDisplay.aspx?DocId=21763

Basic Leave Entitlement

FMLA requires covered employers to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave to eligible employees for the following reasons:

Military Family Leave Entitlements

Eligible employees with a spouse, son, daughter, or parent on active duty or call 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. Qualifying exigencies may include attending certain military events, arranging for alternative childcare, addressing certain financial and legal arrangements, attending certain counseling sessions, and attending post-deployment reintegration briefings.

FMLA also includes a special leave entitlement that permits eligible employees to take up to 26 weeks of leave to care for a covered servicemember during a single 12-month period. A covered servicemember is a current member of the Armed Forces, including a member of the National Guard or Reserves, who has a serious injury or illness incurred in the line of duty on active duty that may render the servicemember medically unfit to perform his or her duties for which the servicemember is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy; or is in outpatient status; or is on the temporary disability retired list.

Military Family Leave is unpaid but employee's may use benefit time.

Eligibility Requirements

Employees are eligible if they have worked for a covered employer for at least one year, for 1,250 hours over the previous 12 months, and if at least 50 employees are employed by the employer within 75 miles.

Definition of Serious Health Condition

A serious health condition is an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves either an overnight stay in a medical care facility, or continuing treatment by a health care provider for a condition that either prevents the employee from performing the functions of the employee’s job, or prevents the qualified family member from participating in school or other daily activities.

Subject to certain conditions, the continuing treatment requirement may be met by a period of incapacity of more than 3 consecutive calendar days combined with at least two visits to a health care provider or one visit and a regimen of continuing treatment, or incapacity due to pregnancy, or incapacity due to a chronic condition. Other conditions may meet the definition of continuing treatment.

Use of Leave

• An employee does not need to use this leave entitlement in one block. Leave can be taken intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule when medically necessary. Employees must make reasonable efforts to schedule leave for planned medical treatment so as not to unduly disrupt the employer’s operations.
• Leave due to qualifying exigencies may also be taken on an intermittent basis.
• Leave is unpaid, but may be covered by short-term disability (STD), Workers Compensation, or benefit time.
• The 12 month period of eligible leave is calculated on the anniversary of an employees original date of hire.

See Leaves of Absences for information on Short-Term Disability and Workers Compensation.

Employee Responsibilities

• Employees must provide 30 days advance notice of leave when the leave is forseeable or as soon as practical.

• Employees must provide sufficient information for the employer to determine if the leave may qualify for FMLA protection and the anticipated timing and duration of the leave. Sufficient information may include that the employee is unable to perform job functions, the family member is unable to perform daily activities, the need for hospitalization or continuing treatment by a health care provider, or circumstances supporting the need for military family leave.

• Employees also must inform the employer if the requested leave is for a reason for which FMLA leave was previously taken or certified. Employees also may be required to provide a certification and periodic recertification supporting the need for leave.

 Additional information, including the Department of Labor (DOL) FMLA poster, can be found via the website below:

http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla/finalrule/FMLAPoster.pdf or http://www.dol.gov/federalregister/PdfDisplay.aspx?DocId=21763

For the procedures and forms required for FMLA, See Getting Things Done-Leave of Absences.