Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

FMLA Eligibility Requirements

The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) entitles eligible 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. 

An employee who works for a covered employer must meet the criteria below in order to be eligible for FMLA leave.  

The employee must:  

  • Have worked for the employer for at least 12 months;  

  • Have at least 1,250 hours of service in the 12 months before taking leave 

Eligible employees are entitled to:

  • Twelve weeks of unpaid job-protected leave in a 12-month period for: 

    • The birth of a child or placement of a child for adoption or foster care; 

    • To bond with a child (leave must be taken within one year of the child’s birth or placement) 

    • To care for the employee’s spouse, child, or parent who has a serious health condition; 

    • For the employee’s own qualifying serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the employee’s job; 

    • For qualifying exigencies related to the foreign deployment of a military member who is the employee’s spouse, child, or parent;” or 

  • An eligible employee who is a covered servicemember’s spouse, child, parent, or next of kin may also take up to 26 weeks of FMLA leave in a single 12-month period to care for the servicemember with a serious injury or illness 

Employee Rights