Labor Laws

Family Medical Leave Act

The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 mandates that covered employers offer as many as 12 weeks of unpaid leave without jeopardizing the job status of eligible employees, for various family and medical situations. Eligibility requires employees to have worked for a single employer for at least one year (1,250 hours over the course of 12 months) and that there be at least 50 employees within a 75-mile radius. FMLA allows employees to leave temporarily or work a less stressful schedule depending on the severity of the circumstances.

Reasons to take leave

Unpaid leave must be awarded for the following:

• Caring for the employee's baby after birth or putting the child up for adoption or foster care.
• Caring for the employee's spouse, children, or parent with a serious health condition.
• Addressing a serious health condition that causes the employee's job performance to plummet to the point where it is of little benefit for them to be present.

Specific types of paid leave can be substituted for unpaid leave at the employee's discretion.

Advance notice and medical certification

The employer may order the employee to provide advance leave notice and medical certification. If these cannot be produced, the time-off request may be denied. The worker usually must provide 30 days of notice when the cause for the leave is predictable. Additionally, the employer may ask that medical certification papers to accompany the request if the employee has a serious health condition. They may even need a second or third opinion and a fitness for duty report to be eligible to resume working.

Job benefits and protection

The employer must continue to provide health insurance benefits to the employee under any group health plan for the length of FMLA leave. Returning employees must have their former positions prior to FMLA leave reinstated. This includes maintaining the same salary, benefits, and all other original occupational terms. Any employee who utilizes FMLA cannot lose the right to any employment benefits amassed before the leave.

Illicit employer actions

Under FMLA regulations, it is illegal for the employer to:

• Interfere with or refuse any rights available to the employer under FMLA.
• Fire or discriminate against an employee for opposing any practice deemed unlawful by FMLA or for inclusion in any proceeding relating to FMLA.

Enforcement

The US Department of Labor has the jurisdiction to look into and resolve complaints concerning FMLA violations. An employee entitled to FMLA coverage has the opportunity to file a lawsuit against an employer for violating his or her rights.

FMLA does not impact any federal or state law forbidding discrimination; it also does not override state or local legislation or collective bargaining agreement offering superior family or medical leave rights

For more information

Visit the FMLA website at http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/index.htm. To find the closest wage and hour office, call 1-866-4USWAGE toll free. A customer service representative is standing by from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in your time zone. Also, try www.wagehour.dol.gov.