Most people are not aware of how this Federal law works or how it can be used to protect your job when you have to leave work to take care of your family.
Kareena and I had been looking forward to the birth of our son since we found out we were pregnant. We went to all of her OB appointments. We registered with the hospital ahead of time. She took prenatal vitamins before and during the pregnancy. We had a detailed birth plan. We were ready...
Or so we thought.
The third trimester of the pregnancy became increasingly difficult as time went on. Her asthma started to flare up and by week 33 her blood pressure started to go thorugh the roof along with pre-term labor. We went to the hospital that Wednesday and by that night she had been admitted to Labor & Delivery.
Two days later, her doctor told us:
“This baby needs to come out today”
We were floored.
The doctor explained that with everything going on, they needed to do a C-section before things got any worse. At this point allowing the pregnancy to continue would have put both Kareena and our son at risk for even more severe complications.
We planned on a natural birth at around week 37.
Now our son would be born 7 weeks premature.
We had a lot more things to worry about now. One of them was how am I going to take time off on such short notice?
The Family Medical Leave Act
In January 1993, Congress passed the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). It was signed into law by President Bill Clinton as one of his first acts in the White House.
This law requires covered employers to grant up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for any of the following reasons:
• The birth of a son or daughter or placement of a son or daughter with the employee for adoption
or foster care;
• To care for a spouse, son, daughter, or parent who has a serious health condition;
• For a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the essential functions
of his or her job; or
• For any qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that a spouse, son, daughter, or parent is a
military member on covered active duty or call to covered active duty status.
It also prohibits employers from demoting you or firing you for taking FMLA leave. In fact, an employer is required to return you to the same position you left or an equivalent position.
If you work for any company with 50 or more employees then you work for a covered employer.
If you work for a elementary school or high school, you also work for a covered employer. It doesn't matter if the school is public or private.
If you work for any county, state, or Federal government agency like Police, Fire, or Public Works, guess what! Covered employer.
Who is Eligible?
For you to be eligible for FMLA you need to:
• Work for a covered employer;
• Have worked for the employer for at least 12 months;
• Have at least 1,250 hours of service for the employer during the 12 month period immediately
preceding the leave; and
• Work at a location where the employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles.
The good news is that the 12 months worked don't have to be consecutive. Any time worked for the same employer counts. This is also true for seasonal workers. The only exception is if you have gap of 7 years or more. Any time worked prior to that 7-year gap no longer counts unless that gap was caused by military service or there was a written agreement (like a collective bargaining agreement) prior to the break.
If you get a W-2 from your employer and you've worked at that company for at least a year, you probably qualify for FMLA.
What Many People Don't know
FMLA is set up for unpaid leave, but that doesn't mean it can't be used with paid leave. Before you go the unpaid route, talk to your HR department about using paid leave in conjunction with FMLA.
Also, FMLA leave does not have to be continuous. In cases where you or a famliy member might be dealing with a chronic illness with acute flare-ups, Intermittent FMLA leave might be more appropriate for you.
How Do You Use It?
Filing for FMLA leave is a two-step process.
First you'll need to fill out your employer's FMLA request form. In most cases you need to give your employer at least 30 days notice. The only exception is if you or your spouse have a health situation that developed suddenly. In cases like those you want to let your employer know what's going on as soon as possible.
The second form you'll need to fill out is a medical or military certification form. You can find these on the U.S. Department of Labor website.
If you're taking leave because you're pregnant or because of a health condition that will take you out of action for a while, you'll want to fill out a Employee’s serious health condition, form WH-380-E.
If you're taking leave because your spouse is pregnant or because you know you're going to have to take care of a sick family member (like a parent, spouse, or child) you'll need to fill out a Family member’s serious health condition, form WH-380-F.
For Military Families
Fill out a Qualifying Exigency, form WH-384 if your spouse, son, daughter, or parent will be actively deployed and you plan on going with them.
If you have a family member with a serious illness or injury (including PTSD) fill out Military Caregiver Leave of a Current Servicemember, form WH-385.
If your family member is a veteran with a serious injury or illness you'll need a Military Caregiver Leave of a Veteran, form WH-385-V.
Both forms will go to your HR department. Most HR departments will work with you to get your paperwork filled out properly. If you have any questions or need a little help the best thing to do is contact your HR department. The next best thing to do is visit the U.S. Department of Labor Website.
How I Did It
In our case, I had to fill out a Family member’s serious health condition, form WH-380-F because my wife and future son were the reasons I took FMLA leave. I had to email HR a few times because I filled out the wrong forms. Fortunately, because I started two months prior to our due date I had a little extra time.
Or so I thought.
When we found out that our son would be arriving way ahead of schedule, the first thing I did was call my supervisor to let them know what was going on. The second thing I did was email the HR department with an update of the situation. They were able to update my FMLA package and start my leave that day.
FMLA is not a perfect solution for anyone who needs time off to take care of a loved one, but it's a good start. The most important thing to know about FMLA is that with it employers can't punish you for taking time off. It's also a really great tool when used with paid time off.
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