The Family and Medical Leave Act: An Overview of Title I

Summary

The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA; P.L. 103-3, as amended) entitles eligible employees to unpaid, job-protected leave for certain family and medical reasons, with continued group health plan coverage.

FMLA requires that covered employers grant up to 12 workweeks in a 12-month period to eligible employees for one or more of the following reasons:

the birth and care of the employee’s newborn child, provided that leave is taken within 12 months of the child’s birth;

the placement of an adopted or fostered child with the employee, provided that leave is taken within 12 months of the child’s placement;

to care for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition;

the employee’s own serious health condition that renders the employee unable to perform the essential functions of his or her job; and

qualified military exigencies arising from the covered activity duty status of a covered military member who is the employee’s spouse, child, or parent.

In addition, the act provides up to 26 workweeks of leave in a single 12-month period to eligible employees to care for a covered military servicemember (including certain veterans) with a serious injury or illness that was sustained or aggravated in the line of duty while on active duty, if the eligible employee is the covered servicemember’s spouse, child, parent, or next of kin.

FMLA leave has four fundamental characteristics:

It is an entitlement, which means that, unlike other forms of leave (like vacation days), it must be granted to an eligible employee with an FMLA-qualifying need for leave who meet the act’s notification and documentation requirements.

FMLA guarantees unpaid leave, but provides that employees may elect to substitute or employers may require the substitution of certain types of accrued paid leave for unpaid FMLA leave, within the constraints of employer policy.

FMLA leave is job-protected, which means that—with few exceptions—an employer must return the employee to the same job or to one that is equivalent in terms of pay, benefits, working conditions, and responsibilities to the one held prior to taking leave.

Pre-existing group health benefits must be maintained during the employee’s absence under the same conditions that were in place prior to taking leave.

FMLA applies to covered employers and eligible employees in both the private and public sectors. Some provisions for federal civil service employees differ from those that apply to private-sector and state and local government employees.

Employer coverage and employee eligibility for FMLA leave are not universal. In general, employers engaged in commerce with 50 or more employees are covered. Employee eligibility is defined in terms of an employee’s work history with a specific employer, and the size of the employer’s workforce in or around the employee’s worksite.

This report describes the major provisions of Title I of the act—which apply to the private sector, state and local governments, and certain federal agencies—as administered by the Secretary of Labor.