Family and Medical
Leave Act (FMLA)


The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) requires all public agencies, including State, local and Federal employers, local education agencies (schools) and employers with at least 50 employees within a 75 mile radius to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave to eligible employees for certain family and medical reasons. Employees are eligible if they have worked for at least one year and for 1,250 hours over the previous 12 months.

FMLA became effective on August 5, 1993, for most employers.

The enactment of the FMLA was predicated on two fundamental concerns -- the needs of the US workforce and the development of high-performance organizations. Increasingly, American children and growing numbers of the elderly are dependent on working family members who spend long hours on the job. When family emergencies arise, requiring employees to attend to their seriously-ill children or parents, or to newly-born or adopted infants, or even to their own serious illness, workers need assurances that they will not have to choose between their job security and meeting their personal and family obligations or tending to vital needs at home.

FMLA ISSUES

FMLA Related Links

U.S. Government, Department of Labor

Can FMLA Claims Be Subject To Mandatory Arbitration?

FREE - Family and Medical Leave Act - Required FMLA Poster