From the course: Employment Law Essentials for HR Professionals and Managers

Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

From the course: Employment Law Essentials for HR Professionals and Managers

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Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

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- [Instructor] The Family Medical Leave Act or FMLA, was passed in 1993 to help balance personal and family medical challenges with an employer's need for productivity. The FMLA applies if you have 50 or more employees working within a 75-mile radius. For an employee to be covered by the FMLA, they must have worked for 1,250 hours in their last 12 months at the company. FMLA leave is a very formalized process. There are specific forms that the Department of Labor wants both the employee and the company to use. Managers get their companies in trouble when they don't understand that employee may request FMLA leave regardless of how badly they're needed at work. Unlike the ADA, it's not about accommodating the employee need or whether it may cause some form of undue hardship on part of the employer. If they or a family member qualify under the FMLA, they get the leave, period. FMLA leave may be taken for birth, adoption or foster care, to care for a spouse, son, daughter or parent with a serious health condition, for their own serious health condition, or for any qualifying exigency of an active-duty military member. Many states have their own FMLA-type laws, usually mirroring the federal legislation. Some states provide protections beyond the federal laws. As you can tell, this is a complicated part of the law, and a good place to check in with Human Resources or your legal counsel when a challenging leave request is made.

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