(a) The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA or Act) allows
``eligible'' employees of a covered employer to take job-protected,
unpaid leave, or to substitute appropriate paid leave if the employee
has earned or accrued it, for up to a total of 12 workweeks in any 12
months because of the birth of a child and to care for the newborn
child, because of the placement of a child with the employee for
adoption or foster care, because the employee is needed to care for a
family member (child, spouse, or parent) with a serious health
condition, or because the employee's own serious health condition makes
the employee unable to perform the functions of his or her job (see
Sec. 825.306(b)(4)). In certain cases, this leave may be taken on an
intermittent basis rather than all at once, or the employee may work a
part-time schedule.
(b) An employee on FMLA leave is also entitled to have health
benefits maintained while on leave as if the employee had continued to
work instead of taking the leave. If an employee was paying all or part
of the premium payments prior to leave, the employee would continue to
pay his or her share during the leave period. The employer may recover
its share only if the employee does not return to work for a reason
other than the serious health condition of the employee or the
employee's immediate family member, or another reason beyond the
employee's control.
(c) An employee generally has a right to return to the same position
or an equivalent position with equivalent pay, benefits and working
conditions at the conclusion of the leave. The taking of FMLA leave
cannot result in the loss of any benefit that accrued prior to the start
of the leave.
(d) The employer has a right to 30 days advance notice from the
employee where practicable. In addition, the employer may require an
employee to submit certification from a health care provider to
substantiate that the leave is due to the serious health condition of
the employee or the employee's immediate family member. Failure to
comply with these requirements may result in a delay in the start of
FMLA leave. Pursuant to a uniformly applied policy, the employer may
also require that an employee present a certification of fitness to
return to work when the absence was caused by the employee's serious
health condition (see Sec. 825.311(c)). The employer may delay restoring
the employee to employment without such certificate relating to the
health condition which caused the employee's absence.
[60 FR 2237, Jan. 6, 1995; 60 FR 16383, Mar. 30, 1995]
