FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act)

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is the 1993 federal law giving eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year for serious health conditions, the arrival of a child, caring for a close family member, and certain military-family needs — up to 26 weeks to care for an injured servicemember. Group health coverage continues during the leave, and the employee returns to the same or an equivalent job.

Who is covered

• Employer: private employers with 50 or more employees, plus public agencies and schools of any size.
• Employee: 12 months with the employer, at least 1,250 hours worked in the previous 12 months, at a site with 50+ employees within 75 miles.

The hours test matters for shift-based teams: part-timers may or may not qualify depending on actual hours worked, which is one more reason accurate time records count.

What managers should know

FMLA leave can be taken intermittently — in hours or days — when medically necessary, which shows up directly in scheduling. Retaliating against an employee for taking leave is unlawful, and counting FMLA absences against attendance policies is a classic violation. A growing number of states run paid family and medical leave programs on top of the federal floor, with their own eligibility rules, so multi-state employers should check each state's program.

Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, 29 U.S.C. ch. 28 — enforced by the US DOL Wage and Hour Division; state paid family leave programs may add paid benefits.

Related terms

• PTO
• ACA full-time equivalent
• Timekeeping requirements