Enacted in 1993, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) entitles employees to take unpaid leave for family and medical reasons, protecting their ability to remain employed in the meantime.
The FMLA entitles employees to take leave for the following reasons:
Because the FMLA imposes specific eligibility requirements, it is often difficult to determine the circumstances in which an employee is able to take protected leave. If you have questions about eligibility under the FMLA, contact Parks, Chesin & Walbert today.
Eligible employees can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in a 12-month period for specific purposes related to family issues and medical treatment. The FMLA allows an employee to take time off due to a serious health condition that makes it impossible for the employee to perform the essential functions of his or her job.
If medically necessary, an employee can take FMLA leave in separate blocks of time. If leave is necessary to receive regular medical treatment, the employee should make efforts to schedule the treatments so that they are least disruptive to the employer’s operation. Eligibility
The FMLA protects an employee’s job security while allowing him/her the flexibility to take time off work to handle a medical or family situation such as a serious health condition.
A serious health condition under the FMLA:
The FMLA applies to all public agencies as well as private sector employers with at least 50 employees for at least 20 weeks of the year. An employee must have worked for the employer for at least 12 months in order to qualify for leave under the FMLA. In addition, the employee must have worked 1,250 hours within the year prior to the start of leave.
A pregnant woman can take FMLA leave for prenatal care or complications with the pregnancy that make her unable to work. She can also take FMLA leave to recover from serious health conditions that arise following the birth of the child. Both mothers and fathers are able to use FMLA following the birth or adoption of their child.
Employers may require an employee to provide certification of a health condition from a health care provider. If the employer requests such certification, the employer must allow 15 days to obtain it. If the employer finds that the medical certification is incomplete, the employee has at least seven days to provide the missing information. The employer does not have a right to access medical records, but is authorized to require certification from a health care professional.
Employees who wish to use FMLA leave must provide at least 30 days’ notice when possible. If the qualifying event is not reasonably foreseeable, the employee should provide notice as soon as possible under the circumstances. When an employee returns from FMLA leave, the employee must be able to work at the original job function or an equivalent job with equivalent pay and benefits.
Employers are not allowed to interfere with an employee’s FMLA rights. They cannot deny legitimate FMLA leave time nor can they retaliate against an employee for exercising these protected rights.
If you have questions related to the Family Medical Leave Act, call Parks, Chesin & Walbert at 404-873-8048. We routinely address clients’ concerns about matters related to FMLA eligibility.