All About the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)


Life is unpredictable, and there are always going to be cases where a person needs to take time off of work due to an illness or serious health problem or to take care of parent, child or spouse suffering from a severe health condition. This is exactly why the US federal government enacted the Family and Medical Leave Act to ensure that workers can take time off their job in case of a medical emergency without having to worry that their employer will harass, penalize or fire them for their leave of absence.

Basic Facts about the FMLA

President Bill Clinton was one of the primary proponents of the Family and Medical Leave Act, and he eventually succeeded in convincing Congress to pass the act in 1993. As part of this act, any qualifying employee is guaranteed the right to unpaid, job-protected leave for certain family and medical reasons. The law allows employees to take up to 12 weeks of leave in any 12 month period to attend to a serious personal or family health issues. In addition to recovering for an illness or caring for a sick family member, employees are also entitled to leave for the following reasons.

• Child birth and caring for a newborn child (leave can be taken any time within the first year)
• Adoption or placement of a foster child; care for the adopted or foster child within the first year of placement
• Any qualifying situation related to an immediate family member on active military duty
• Caring for a seriously ill or injured military service personnel in the immediate family; in this case, 26 weeks of leave are allowed in a 12 month period

When an employee chooses to take FMLA leave, they are guaranteed that their employer cannot harass or penalize them. As long as you take no more than 12 weeks of leave, your employer is legally required to provide you with the same job and salary. Although this type of family and medical leave is unpaid, the law states that your employer must still provide the same level of health insurance coverage throughout the leave as the employee received prior.

Who is Eligible for FMLA Leave?

The Family and Medical Leave Act covers both private and government employees. However, certain categories of jobs are excluded from taking leave. In addition, not all companies are required to offer family or medical leave depending on the specific industry and size of the company. In order to qualify for leave under the FMLA, an employee must meet all of the following requirements.

• Has worked for their current employer for at least 12 consecutive months
• Has worked a minimum of 1,250 hours over the past 12 months
• Works in a location where their employer has at least 50 employees within a 75-mile radius

The majority of employees who meet these guidelines should qualify for leave under the FMLA. However, there are certain stipulations for higher wage earners, specifically any salaried employee that is in the top 10 percent of their company's earners within a 75-mile radius. In this case, the employee is still entitled to leave. However, the employer does not have to guarantee them the same level of salary when they return back to work.

There is also another stipulation that applies to married couples who work for the same employer. In this case, you and your spouse are still only eligible for a total of 12 weeks combined, i.e. six weeks per person.

Taking FMLA Leave

When an employer chooses to take medical or family leave, they can rest assured that their job will be waiting for them when they finally return back to work and also that they will continue to be covered under their company health insurance policy for the duration of the leave. Unfortunately, you won't be paid during your leave unless your company allows you to use any paid sick time or vacation days.

Using these paid leave days can definitely be a big help depending on your financial situation. However, there will definitely be times when an employee wishes not to use their paid leave days and would instead prefer to be on unpaid leave. This isn't always possible though, as the law stipulates that employers can force employees taking FMLA leave to use any paid leave days they have accrued.

Although there are a number of stipulations and not everyone qualifies for the program, there is still no doubt that the Family and Medical Leave Act can be a huge help to employees in times of need. Of course, the majority of other developed countries offer paid leave for most of the situations covered under the FMLA. Still, even if the US is a bit behind in this area, it's still good to know that leave is available when you need it.