HOME • THE FMLA HANDBOOK • STRIKES, LOCKOUTS AND INSIDE CAMPAIGNS •THE LEGAL RIGHTS OF UNION STEWARDS
THE LABOR LAW SOURCE BOOK • HOW TO WIN PAST PRACTICE GRIEVANCES •WORKERS’ COMP • ORDER FORM • FREE SEMINAR • CONTACT US

Chapter One: Snapshot

fter eight years of debate, thirteen votes, and two presidential vetoes, Congress adopted the Family and Medical Leave Act on February 4, 1993. President Bill Clinton signed the bill the following day. The FMLA allows eligible employees to take up to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave each year for medical or family reasons.

The FMLA covers:
• Private-sector employers with 50 or more employees
• Public-sector employers, including federal, state, and local government agencies and schools

You are eligible for FMLA leave if you:
• Work for a covered employer
• Have worked for this employer for at least 12 months
• Have worked at least 1,250 hours during the 12 months before the start of your leave, and
• Work at a location where your employer employs 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius.

As an eligible employee, you may take up to 12 workweeks of job-protected leave in a 12-month period to:
• Treat or recover from a serious health condition that makes you unable to perform your job (medical leave)
• Care for a child, spouse, or parent suffering from a serious health condition (family-care leave)
• Care for or bond with a newborn, newly adopted, or new foster child (new-child leave).

Serious health conditions include injuries or illnesses that involve medical treatment and incapacitate you or a family member for more than three consecutive calendar days. The FMLA also covers disabilities resulting from chronic ailments or pregnancy. The FMLA does not apply to colds, ear infections, upset stomachs, or other minor health conditions.

When medically necessary, you may take time off intermittently or by reducing your scheduled days or hours.

Your employer may not deny you time off because of production needs or because you occupy an important position.

During your leave your employer must maintain your group health plan benefits as if you were working.

Your employer may request acertification prepared by a health care provider verifying that your leave is for a purpose recognized by the FMLA. Before returning from a medical leave, you may be required to submit a fitness-for-duty report.

Your employer does not have to continue your wages during your absence. However, if you have accrued paid vacation or annual or personal leave, you may use it even if you cannot comply with the usual duration or advance-notice requirements. Sick pay may be available under your contract or a state program. Unless your contract guarantees employees the exclusive right to schedule vacations, your employer may be able to force you to use your vacation leave.

You may not be warned, suspended, or discharged for taking FMLA time off. Nor may your employer issue you an adverse evaluation, deny you a promotion, count your absences under an attendance control policy, or take other action against you.

If your need for time off is foreseeable 30 days in advance — for example, if your doctor schedules you for an operation — you must give notice at least 30 days in advance. If you have less than 30 days foreknowledge, you must notify your employer as soon as practicable. The notice may be verbal.

When your leave is completed, your employer must restore you to your regular job or to an equivalent position with the same pay, benefits, duties, status, terms, and conditions of employment.

Your employer must post a notice explaining the FMLA, include FMLA information in benefit documents, answer questions, and promptly designate qualifying absences as FMLA leave.

Under most union contracts FMLA rights can be asserted in the grievance procedure.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) enforces the FMLA. In the event of a violation, you can file a complaint with the Wage and Hour Division. You may also sue your employer in court.

Your employer violates the FMLA if a manager or supervisor:
• Refuses to allow you a qualifying leave
• Orders you to cut short your leave or report for light duty
• Fails to restore you to your former position or its equivalent
• Withholds a benefit or privilege because you have taken FMLA leave
• Uses coercion, threats, or intimidation to discourage you from exercising FMLA rights
• Gives you a poor evaluation or denies you a promotion because you have taken FMLA leave
• Fires, disciplines, or demotes you because of FMLA absences
• Punishes you for complaining about FMLA violations, telling others about the FMLA, or taking legal action
• Denies you any other rights provided by the FMLA or the regulations issued by the U.S. Department of Labor