What Is FMLA?

The Family Medical Leave Act

The Family Medical Leave Act (referred to as FMLA or the Act) was originally enacted in 1993 with the intent to allow employees to balance work and family life by allowing them to take reasonable unpaid time off for medical reasons.  The Act was intended to balance the demands of the workplace with the needs of the family but after more than a decade it was necessary to revisit the particulars for some fine-tuning to help achieve this balance.  After a two year commentary and assessment process the FMLA was revised effective January 2009 with what is known as “The Final Rule” revisions.

The Act allows eligible employees of covered employers to take up to a total of 12 workweeks of unpaid time off (or to substitute earned paid leave in certain situations) in any 12 month period.  Please see our “Eligibility” page for more information regarding who is eligible for FMLA.

Eligible circumstances that qualify for FMLA protection are:

• Birth of a child and to bond with the child after birth
• Placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care
• Because the employee is needed to care for a family member* with a serious health condition**
• Because the employee’s own serious health condition** makes them unable to do the essential functions of their position
• Because of any qualifying exigency arising out of a qualifying family member being a covered military member given a short notice deployment order.

The Act further allows…

eligible employees up to 26 workweeks in a single 12 month period to care for a covered servicemember with a serious injury or illness that was incurred in the line of duty.
*Please be aware that all of these terms such as “eligible”, “employee”, “incapacity”, “treatment”  and even “family member” are very specifically defined under the FMLA.  So for instance, even though your sister is your family member she is not your qualifying family member under the Family Medical Leave Act.
**To qualify as a serious health condition an illness or injury must qualify under one of six given categories, each of which involves either known or expected incapacity and requires a specific level of medical intervention or “treatment”.

**One Question/One Answer**
Do you have a question regarding FMLA?  We are here to help….and we make the process simple.