Wage and Hour Division (WHD)
Family and Medical Leave Act
Overview
The FMLA entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave. Eligible employees are entitled to:
- Twelve workweeks of leave in a 12-month period for:
- the birth of a child and to care for the newborn child within one year of birth;
- the placement with the employee of a child for adoption or foster care and to care for the newly placed child within one year of placement;
- to care for the employee’s spouse, child, or parent who has a serious health condition;
- a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the essential functions of his or her job;
- any qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that the employee’s spouse, son, daughter, or parent is a covered military member on “covered active duty;” or
- Twenty-six workweeks of leave during a single 12-month period to care for a covered servicemember with a serious injury or illness if the eligible employee is the servicemember’s spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin (military caregiver leave).
Key News
- WHD hosted a webinar that walked through the basic provisions of the FMLA using the new Employee Guide and answered the public’s general FMLA questions. View the archived webinar and frequently asked questions. (June 27, 2012).
- As part of the Department’s continuing effort to spread the word about the FMLA and make the FMLA more accessible, WHD released an Employee Guide to the FMLA, a 16-page, plain language booklet designed to answer common FMLA questions and clarify who can take FMLA leave and what protections the FMLA provides. Download or Order the FMLA Employee Guide. (June 20, 2012)
- The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division has published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to implement statutory amendments to the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA). The proposal expands the military family leave provisions and incorporates a special eligibility provision for airline flight crew employees, as well as making some additional regulatory changes. Because of the interest that has been expressed and the department’s desire to obtain as much information about its proposal as possible, the comment period has been extended through April 30. To view the proposed rule and submit comments, visit the federal e-rulemaking portal at http://www.regulations.gov and search by regulation identification number 1235-AA03. More information is available at the Wage and Hour Division’s Proposed Rule Website (April 13, 2012).
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The U.S. Department of Labor announced that it is taking the first step towards conducting surveys regarding the FMLA. The surveys are designed to update and expand the Department’s knowledge about FMLA leave-taking and close current data gaps remaining from previously
conducted surveys. For more information on the survey, please visit the FMLA Survey Web page. (April 1, 2011)
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The Wage and Hour Division issued an Administrator Interpretation clarifying the
definition of "son and daughter" under the Family and Medical Leave Act to ensure
that an employee who assumes the role of caring for a child receives parental rights
to family leave regardless of the legal or biological relationship. FMLA AI 2010-3, Press
Release (June 22, 2010)
General Guidance
- Break Time for Nursing Mothers
- Military Family Leave Provisions of the FMLA
- Special Rules for Returning Reservists under USERRA
- Military Frequently Asked Questions (PDF)
- Non-Military Frequently Asked Questions (PDF)
- FMLA NDAA 2008 Guidance
- FMLA NDAA 2010 Guidance
- FMLA Airline Flight Crew Technical Amendments Guidance
- FMLA Employee Guide (Spanish)
Fact Sheets
- Fact Sheet on the Final Rule
- Fact Sheet # 28: The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (PDF)
- Fact Sheet # 28A: The Family and Medical Leave Act Military Leave Entitlements (PDF)
- Fact Sheet # 28B: FMLA leave for birth, bonding, or to care for a child with a serious health condition on the basis of an "in loco parentis" relationship (PDF)
- Fact Sheet # 28C: FMLA leave to care for a parent with a serious health condition on the basis of an "in loco parentis" relationship (PDF)
- Fact Sheet # 44: Visits to Employers (PDF)
- Fact Sheet #77B: Protection for Individuals Under the Family and Medical Leave Act (PDF)
e-Tools
Posters
- 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)
Interpretive Guidance
- Rulings & Interpretations: FMLA Opinion Letters
Applicable Laws, Regulations, Rules, and Histories
- Law
- Regulations
- Federal Register