Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal law that requires certain employers to provide eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year for qualifying family or medical reasons. The law was enacted in 1993 and applies to public agencies, public and private schools, and private employers with 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius.

Key features of FMLA include:

• Eligibility: To be eligible for FMLA, an employee must have worked for the employer for at least 12 months and have worked at least 1,250 hours during the previous 12 months.

• Covered reasons for leave: FMLA allows eligible employees to take leave for the following reasons:

• Birth, adoption, or foster care of a child
• Care for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition
• The employee's own serious health condition that makes them unable to work
• Qualifying exigencies arising out of a covered military member's deployment
• Care for a covered service member with a serious injury or illness

• Length of leave: Eligible employees can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year for qualifying reasons. In some cases, employees may be eligible for up to 26 weeks of leave to care for a covered service member.

• Job protection: Employees who take FMLA leave are entitled to job protection. This means that they must be restored to their same or an equivalent position when they return to work.

• Continuation of benefits: Employers must continue to provide eligible employees with health benefits during their FMLA leave.

FMLA impacts employee benefits in several ways. First, it provides eligible employees with job-protected leave, which can be crucial for those who need time off for medical or family reasons. Additionally, FMLA requires employers to continue providing health benefits during an employee's leave, which can help ensure that the employee has access to necessary medical care. Finally, some employers may offer additional benefits to employees who take FMLA leave, such as paid leave or other forms of financial assistance.