Family and Medical Leave Act

Family and Medical Leave Act

March 14, 2011

FAMILY MEDICAL LEAVE ACT

Overview

This concept paper will discuss the role of the employer in implementing the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), implications of failure to adhere to the Act, employer responsibilities for compliance, potential employee issues resulting from the Act, best practices in implementation, and the role of the manager.

The Family and Medical Leave Act (Public Law 103-3) was enacted February 5, 1993 and became effective on August 5, 1993 for most employers. It was originally designed to provide employees with the opportunity to balance work and family responsibilities by enabling the employee to take reasonable unpaid leave for identified family and medical reasons. It also sought to accommodate employer interests, and promote equal employment opportunities for both men and women.

On January 28, 2009, significant changes to the regulations implementing the Family and Medical Leave Act were enacted. While, at its core, the regulations maintained the original purpose of the Act, every facet of the regulations changed. The most significant change included various forms of leave pertaining to military caregiver and military exigency types of leave. In addition, the new regulations changed definitions, notice requirements, certification requirements, and numerous miscellaneous provisions of the Act.

What is the Law?

FMLA covers both private sector employers and public agencies. The Act covers such areas as employer coverage, employee eligibility, reasons for leave, designating leave, notice requirements, determining leave entitlement, scheduling leave, benefit continuation, certification, job restoration, record keeping, and enforcement. There are only a few criteria that must be met before an employer is considered a covered employer. The test for eligibility for an employer is one who employs 50 or more employees for each working day during each of 20 or more calendar...