Family Absences and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

The Family Law and Medical leave (Family and Medical Leave Act, FMLA) is a federal law that allows covered employees to take a leave from work for a period of time to take care of certain needs of the family or medical. Several states have similar laws that provide additional coverage to that provided for in the FMLA. Below is short information about the rights of employees under the FMLA.

Employers Covered

Not all employers are required to provide their employees the possibility of taking periods of family absence and medical leave act. The federal law provides that an employer must allow eligible employees to take periods of absence if the employer is:

• a state government agency, local or federal, or
• a private company that is involved in or participates in business interstate and had fifty or more employees during twenty or more weeks in the current calendar year or earlier.

This criterion may sound complicated, but practically all the companies of the united States participate or are engaged in business interstate. The standard of “fifty or more employees” includes all persons on the payroll of the employer: part-time employees, employees on approved leave, and temporary employees or leased.

Covered Employees

An employee who works for a covered employer is eligible for a period of absence if you worked for the employer for at least twelve months, and for 1,250 hours over the twelve months immediately preceding the need for the period of absence. The employee must also work in facilities of the united States or of the territory of the united States, in which the employer has at least fifty employees within a radius of seventy-five miles.

The requirements listed here are those that set the federal FMLA. The laws of your state may have other requirements that allow for periods of absence of employees or to different employees.

What Period of Absence Allowed?

A covered employer must allow the employees covered a period of absence maximum of twelve weeks. The period of absence can be unpaid, but can be combined with a period of absence-paid (such as absence due to holiday or sickness).

An eligible employee may take a period of absence:

• due to the birth, adoption or the custody of a child;
• to take care of your spouse, child, or child incompetent or parent with a “serious health condition” (you’ll find more information below); or
• to manage the serious health condition own of the employee that makes him unable to work.

A “serious health condition” is defined as an illness, injury, impairment, or condition that involves:

• hospital care;
• absence from work and continuing treatment;
• pregnancy;
• treatment of chronic condition;
• longer term continuous monitoring;
• multiple treatments.

It may be that employees are required to submit a notice, if possible, and a medical certification of the need for a period of absence. An employer that provides health insurance must maintain coverage of the employee with a period of absence in the same terms as if the employee were working.

Back to Work

When an employee returns from a period of absence that has been granted under the FMLA, you must return to his post old or to an equivalent position with pay, benefits and other terms of employment comparable. Taken a period of absence cannot result in the loss of benefits to which the employee was entitled prior to the period of absence, and such period may not be counted against the employee within the framework of a policy of assistance “without absences”.

Can refusing to return to their jobs of certain employees if the fact of return generates an economic damage a serious and important for the employer. An employee “key” is defined as a salaried employee who is within ten percent of employees better payments within a radius of seventy-five miles. The employer must notify the employee who is a key employee when the employee presents the notice of intention to take a period of absence, and must notify the employee when it is decided to deny your reinstatement.

Legal help with the Rights provided for under the FMLA

The Law Family and Medical leave (and similar state laws) can be of great help for employees who have family obligations are important but at the same time need to have a stable job. If you are an employee and have questions about your rights under the FMLA, or if it considers that such rights have been violated, contact a lawyer specializing in employee rights in your area to discuss your options.