Welcome to FindLaw's section on employees' rights to family and medical leave, including maternity leave, disability, and more. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is the federal law that allows covered employees to take extended time away from work to handle certain family or medical matters.
This section contains answers to common questions on the FMLA, employee rights and responsibilities, and more. To begin, select an item from the list below, or click "read more" to learn about the history of the FMLA.
The History of the Family and Medical Leave Act
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is an important employment law creating employees' rights to unpaid family and medical leave. President Bill Clinton signed the federal legal measure into law in 1993.
When Clinton signed the bill, he noted that many employers had failed to accommodate workers by adopting family and medical leave policies. This forced them to choose between their jobs and family emergencies. He also noted that employees with serious health conditions who were temporarily unable to work lacked job protection.
In a nutshell, the FMLA provides workers with 12 weeks of unpaid leave in a 12-month period. The work absence is job-protected leave. Job-protected means the worker must be reinstated to their former job or an equivalent position with the same pay and benefits, including health benefits. While the worker is out on leave, the employer must continue the worker's health insurance. The federal law only applies to large employers.
The FMLA sets minimum requirements. Some cities and many states have their own leave laws. These laws may provide additional employee leave benefits beyond those outlined in the FMLA, such as paid leave.
Following is a brief discussion of employees' rights under the FMLA.
Family and Medical Leave: Overview
The FMLA doesn't require every employer to provide leave. Small businesses don't have to comply. But large employers and public employers must follow the FMLA. These include:
- Local, state, and federal government agencies
- Local education agencies such as elementary and secondary schools and school boards
It also includes private businesses engaged in or affecting interstate commerce that employed 50 or more employees for 20 or more weeks in the current or prior calendar year. The number of employees includes part-time employees, employees on leave, and leased or temporary employees. This criterion may sound complicated, but virtually every business in the U.S. engages in or affects interstate commerce.
If the employer meets these requirements, its employees are eligible for FMLA leave if they worked for 12 months and worked 1,250 hours over the 12 months immediately preceding the need for leave. The employee must also work at a worksite in the United States or a U.S. territory where the employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles.
Leave Provided
Covered employers must provide eligible employees with a maximum of 12 weeks of leave. The employer doesn't have to pay the worker during this leave. But the employee can combine the work absence with paid vacation or sick leave.
Employees can take the 12 weeks of leave non-consecutively. The FMLA allows for intermittent leave. This means employees can take leave in short breaks to cover a series of medical treatments.
Reasons for Leave
Several reasons qualify for FMLA leave. An eligible employee may take leave:
- To handle the employee's own serious health condition or serious injury
- For the birth of a child or placement of a child through adoption or from foster care
- To care for a family member, including the employee's spouse, child, or parent, who has a "serious health condition" or has suffered a serious injury
A "serious health condition" is an injury or illness that involves:
- Hospital care
- Absence from work, plus continuing treatment
- Pregnancy
- Treatment for a chronic condition
- Permanent long-term supervision
- Multiple treatments
In the case of an employee, a serious health condition also means the employee can't work or perform essential job functions.
The FMLA includes specific provisions for military family leave entitlements, such as:
- Qualifying exigency: Leave for urgent needs related to the employee's spouse, son, daughter, or parent being on active duty
- Military caregiver leave: Up to 26 weeks of leave in a 12-month period for employees to care for a servicemember with a serious injury or illness, provided the eligible employee is the servicemember's spouse, child, parent, or next of kin
Notice
The FMLA outlines notice requirements for employers and employees.
If possible, employees should provide advance notice of the need for leave. If possible, they must also provide medical certification of the need for leave.
Employer notice requirements under the FMLA are quite extensive. Employers must display a poster in a visible place that explains the FMLA and employee rights. The information must also be included in the employee handbook or provided on the hire date for employees if there is no handbook. When the employer is notified or becomes aware that leave is needed, the employer must provide an eligibility notice, a designation notice, and a rights and responsibilities notice.
Terminating Employees Who Are on FMLA Leave
The FMLA grants workers the right to job reinstatement. Employers can't take negative employment actions against workers who are on leave unless the reason for the action is unrelated to their FMLA leave.
Returning to Work
Employees who take leave retain all the benefits they had before taking leave. An employer who provides health insurance must maintain coverage for an employee on leave on the same terms as if the employee had continued to work.
Leave will not count against them under a "no-fault" attendance policy.
Upon returning from FMLA-granted leave, employers must reinstate the employee to their former job or a comparable one with the same pay and benefits.
Employers can refuse to reinstate certain employees if their return to their former positions would cause substantial and grievous economic harm to the employer. These workers are "key employees." When an employee gives notice of intent to take leave, the employer must notify them that they are a key employee and inform them if reinstatement will be denied.
An employee's return to work after taking leave may involve a fitness-for-duty certification for those who have taken time off for their health care issues.
Enforcement
The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) enforces the FMLA. You can file a complaint with the agency. Aggrieved employees can also file a private civil lawsuit.
New developments
Although the FMLA has existed for 30 years, it's still evolving. The Federal Employee Paid Leave Act (FEPLA) amended the FMLA in 2020 to provide paid parental leave to most Federal civilian workers.
Additional Information
The Labor Department has a series of FMLA fact sheets on its website if you need more information. FindLaw also offers frequently asked questions (FAQ) on the FMLA.
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