The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993

On October 28, 2009, the President signed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 (2010 NDAA), Public Law 111-84. Section 565 of the 2010 NDAA amends the military family leave entitlements of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). These amendments expand coverage for “qualifying exigency” leave to eligible employees with covered family members in the Regular Armed Forces and coverage for “military caregiver leave” to eligible employees who are the spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin of certain veterans with a “serious injury or illness.” On December 21, 2009, the President signed the Airline Flight Crew Technical Corrections Act, Public Law 111-119, which modifies the FMLA eligibility requirements for flight crew members. This Fact Sheet does not incorporate these amendments to the FMLA.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Employment Standards Administration, Wage and Hour Division, administers and enforces the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for all private, state and local government employees, and some federal employees. Most federal and certain congressional employees are also covered by the law and are subject to the jurisdiction of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management or the Congress.

The FMLA entitles eligible employees to take up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for specified family and medical reasons, or for any “qualifying exigency” arising out of the fact that a covered military member is on active duty, or has been notified of an impending call or order to active duty, in support of a contingency operation. The FMLA also allows eligible employees to take up to 26 workweeks of job-protected leave in a “single 12-month period” to care for a covered servicemember with a serious injury or illness. See Fact Sheet #28A: The Family and Medical Leave Act Military Family Leave Entitlements

EMPLOYER COVERAGE
The FMLA applies to all public agencies, including state, local and federal employers, local education agencies (schools), and private-sector employers who employed 50 or more employees in 20 or more workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year, including joint employers and successors of covered employers.

EMPLOYEE ELIGIBILITY
To be eligible for FMLA benefits, an employee must:

  1. work for a covered employer;
  2. have worked for the employer for a total of 12 months;
  3. have worked at least 1,250 hours over the previous 12 months; and
  4. work at a location in the United States or in any territory or possession of the United States where at least 50 employees are employed by the employer within 75 miles.

While the 12 months of employment need not be consecutive, employment periods prior to a break in service of seven years or more need not be counted unless the break is occasioned by the employee’s fulfillment of his or her National Guard or Reserve military obligation (as protected under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA)), or a written agreement, including a collective bargaining agreement, exists concerning the employer’s intention to rehire the employee after the break in service.

LEAVE ENTITLEMENT
A covered employer must grant an eligible employee up to a total of 12 workweeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period for one or more of the following reasons:

A covered employer also must grant an eligible employee who is a spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin of a current member of the Armed Forces, including a member of the National Guard or Reserves, with a serious injury or illness up to a total of 26 workweeks of unpaid leave during a “single 12-month period” to care for the service-member. For specific information regarding military family leave.

Spouses employed by the same employer are limited in the amount of family leave they may take for the birth and care of a newborn child, placement of a child for adoption or foster care, or to care for a parent who has a serious health condition to a combined total of 12 workweeks (or 26 workweeks if leave to care for a covered service-member with a serious injury or illness is also used). Leave for birth and care, or placement for adoption or foster care, must conclude within 12 months of the birth or placement.

Under some circumstances, employees may take FMLA leave intermittently – taking leave in separate blocks of time for a single qualifying reason – or on a reduced leave schedule – reducing the employee’s usual weekly or daily work schedule. When leave is needed for planned medical treatment, the employee must make a reasonable effort to schedule treatment so as not to unduly disrupt the employer’s operation. If FMLA leave is for birth and care, or placement for adoption or foster care, use of intermittent leave is subject to the employer's approval.

Under certain conditions, employees or employers may choose to “substitute” (run concurrently) accrued paid leave (such as sick or vacation leave) to cover some or all of the FMLA leave. An employee’s ability to substitute accrued paid leave is determined by the terms and conditions of the employer’s normal leave policy.

"Serious health condition" means an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves either: