Family Medical Leave Act

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The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) entitles eligible ULM Employees 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 medical condition;
• a serious medical 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 "active duty;" or

Twenty-six workweeks of leave during a single 12-month period to care for a covered service member with a serious injury or illness if the eligible employee is the service member's spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin (military caregiver leave).

FMLA Employee Guide

Family Medical Leave Act Documents:

FMLA Policy
FMLA Application

How Family Medical Leave is calculated:

For holidays – when a holiday falls during a week in which an employee is taking the full week of FMLA leave, the entire week is counted as FMLA leave.  If an employee is taking less than the full week of FMLA, then the holiday is not counted as FMLA leave.

For school closures – time that an employee is not schedule to report to work may not be counted as FMLA leave.  For example, when we are closed for more than a week for the winter holiday, then it would not be counted against your FMLA leave.

Important Updates:

On February 23, 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division announced a Final Rule to revise the definition of spouse under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) in the light of the United States Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Windsor, which found section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) to be unconstitutional. The Final Rule amends the definition of spouse so the eligible employees in legal same-sex marriages will be able to take FMLA leave to care for their spouse of family member, regardless of where they live. 

Links:

United States Department of Labor - Wage and Hour Division (WHD)