The Family
and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) |
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* The Family and Medical Leave Act was amended on January 28, 2008. Please visit Wage and Hour's Web page for additional information.
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides an entitlement of up to 12 weeks of job-protected, unpaid leave during any 12-month period to eligible, covered employees for the following reasons: 1) birth and care of the eligible employee's child, or placement for adoption or foster care of a child with the employee; 2) care of an immediate family member (spouse, child, parent) who has a serious health condition; or 3) care of the employee's own serious health condition. It also requires that employee's group health benefits be maintained during the leave. The FMLA is administered by the Employment Standards Administration's Wage and Hour Division within the U.S. Department of Labor.
Application of the FMLA can also be impacted by the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 (COBRA), the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). See "Related Topics and Links" below.
COMPLIANCE ASSISTANCE MATERIALS
- Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Compliance Assistance Home Page
- Memo: Protection of Uniformed Service Members' Rights to Family and Medical Leave - Provides information on FMLA eligibility rules for reservists returning to private employment.
- Filing a complaint - DOL's Wage and Hour Division manages complaints regarding violations of the various laws and regulations it administers. To file a complaint concerning one of these laws, contact your nearest Wage and Hour Division office or call the Department's Toll-Free Wage and Hour Helpline at 1-866-4-US-WAGE.
- Fact Sheet on Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
- USERRA-FMLA Questions and Answers - Fact sheet on returning reservists' FMLA leave eligibility under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA).
- Fact Sheet on Family and Medical Leave Act Military Leave Entitlements
- elaws Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Advisor - This interactive e-tool provides information about employee eligibility under the law including valid reasons for leave, employee/employer notification responsibilities, and employee rights and benefits.
- The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Poster - All covered employers are required to display and keep displayed this poster prepared by the Department of Labor summarizing the major provisions of the FMLA.
- In addition to records required by the Fair Labor Standards Act, the FMLA requires that employers designate time taken as FMLA by eligible employees as such and preserve certain notices to and from employees concerning FMLA leave. See optional forms:
- Form
WH-380-E - Certification of Health Care Provider for Employee’s Serious
Health Condition
(PDF)
- WH-380-F -
Certification of Health Care Provider for Family Member’s Serious Health
Condition (PDF)
- WH-381 -
Notice of Eligibility and Rights & Responsibilities (PDF)
- WH-382 -
Designation Notice (PDF)
- WH-384 -
Certification of Qualifying Exigency For Military Family Leave (PDF)
- WH-385 - Certification for Serious Injury or Illness of Covered
Servicemember -- for Military Family Leave (PDF)
APPLICABLE LAWS AND REGULATIONS
- The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) - Provides certain employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year. It also requires that their group health benefits be maintained during the leave.
- January 28, 2008 Amendments to FMLA (Section 585 of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2008) - Among other things, amends FMLA to permit a “spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin” to take up to 26 workweeks of leave to care for a “member of the Armed Forces, including a member of the National Guard or Reserves, who is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy, is otherwise in outpatient status, or is otherwise on the temporary disability retired list, for a serious injury or illness."
- Employment Law Guide - Uniformed Service Members - Mandates that certain persons who serve in the armed forces have a right to reemployment with the employer they were with when they entered service. This includes those called up from the reserves or National Guard. See also Compliance Assistance By Law - The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.
- Fact Sheet on the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
- Federal vs. State Family and Medical Leave Laws
- Pregnancy Discrimination Act - Prohibits discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.
- HIPAA Medical Privacy Rule - Administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Office of Civil Rights.
- Wage and Hour Division
200 Constitution Avenue, NW
Room S-3502
Washington, DC 20210
Contact WHD
Tel: 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243)
TTY: 1-877-889-5627
Local Offices - For questions on other DOL laws,
please call DOL's Toll-Free Help Line at 1-866-4-USA-DOL (1-866-487-2365). Live assistance is available in English and Spanish, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Additional service is available in more than 140 languages through a translation service.
Tel: 1-866-4-USA-DOL (1-866-487-2365)
TTY: 1-877-889-5627
*Pursuant to the U.S. Department of Labor's Confidentiality Protocol for Compliance Assistance Inquiries, information provided by a telephone caller will be kept confidential within the bounds of the law. Compliance assistance inquiries will not trigger an inspection, audit, investigation, etc.