In 1993, Congress passed the Family And Medical Leave Act (FMLA) that requires covered employers to allow eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period for certain medical situations.
The FMLA covers private employers with 50 or more employees (including part-timers) for each working day during each of 20 or more calendar work weeks in either the current or the preceding year. In the case of a public agency, or public or private elementary and secondary schools, coverage occurs without regard to the threshold that 50 employee are carried on the payroll each day for the 20 or more weeks in a year. However, the requirement that there be 50 employees at a worksite or within 75 miles pertains.
Covered employers must grant requests for leave in the following situations:
- For the birth and care of a newborn child.
- For the placement of a child for adoption or foster care.
- For the care of the employee's spouse, child or parent with a serious health condition.
- For a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the functions of the employee's job.
The law applies equally to male and female employees.
The enactment was predicated on the demands of the workplace and the needs of families and is intended to benefit both employers and employees - the rationale being that a direct correlation exists between stability in the family and productivity in the workplace.
Over the years, survey after survey that has been conducted with HR professionals have confirmed that, by far, FMLA is the most complicated and confusing employment law to understand and conform to. Questions involving issues such as the definition of a serious health condition, how to determine how much leave an employee is entitled to, intermittent leave, what is paid or unpaid, requirements of employee's notice, medical certification, employee's rights to return to work and recordkeeping requirements all present " areas of gray" and are prone to inconsistent interpretations.
There is a slim possibility that some of the ambiquities of FMLA may be addressed. The HR Cafe noted earlier this year that the Department of Labor (DOL) plans to take a look at clarifying (do you think this might be an attempt to streamline?) areas such as the serious health condition, intermittent leave and medical certification sections of the law. We suggest that you take a look at their article. You also may want to read Diane Stafford's post as well. Perhaps there is hope.
Although the measures the DOL are taking are steps in the right direction, no time table has been identified as to when and if any changes may be forthcoming. Plus, Congress will probably want to add their seven cents worth "on our behalf."
Stay tuned!
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