Federal FMLA

Federal FMLA Leave Entitlement

FMLA requires covered employers to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave to eligible employees for the following reasons:

  • Incapacity due to pregnancy, prenatal medical care or child birth;

  • To care for the employee’s child after

    • birth

    • placement for adoption

    • or foster care

  • To care for the employee’s 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 their job.

Federal Military Leaves

Definition of Qualified Family Members

What do "Spouse," "Parent" and "Son or Daughter" mean for purposes of an employee qualifying to take FMLA leave?

  • Spouse means a husband or wife as defined or recognized under state law for purposes of marriage in the state where the marriage was entered into or, in the case of a marriage entered into outside of any state, if the marriage is valid in the place where entered into and could have been entered into in at least one state.

  • Parent means a biological, adoptive, step, or foster father or mother, or any other individual who stands or stood in loco parentis to an employee when the employee was a son or daughter as defined below. Parents-in-law are not covered.

  • Son or daughter means a biological, adopted or foster child, a stepchild, a legal word or a child of a person standing in loco parentis, who is either under age 18, or age 18 or older and "incapable of self care because of a mental or physical disability" at the time FMLA leave is to commence.

  • "In loco parentis" includes those with day-to-day responsibilities to care for and financially support a child, or in the case of an employee who had such responsibility for the employee when the employee was a child. A biological or legal relationship is not necessary

Definition of a Serious Health condition

What is a "serious health condition" entitling an employee to FMLA leave?
For purposes of Federal FMLA, a "serious health condition" entitling an employee to FMLA leave means an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that also involves

A. Inpatient Care (ie: overnight stay) in a hospital, hospice, or residential medical care facility. This includes any period of incapacity (including a single day off work) or any subsequent treatment in connection with inpatient care; OR

B. Continuing Regimen of treatment by a health care provider that includes one or more of the following:

  1. A period of incapacity of more than 3 consecutive, full calendar days, and any subsequent treatment or period of incapacity related to this same condition, that also involves:

    1. Treatment 2 or more times by a health care provider. Two visits must occur within 30 days of the beginning period of incapacity and the first visit must occur within 7 days of the first date of incapacity.

    2. Treatment by a health care provider on at least one occasion that results in a regimen of continuing treatment under the supervision of a health care provider. The first visit to the physician must occur within 7 days of the first date of incapacity.

  2. Any period of incapacity due to pregnancy, or for prenatal care

  3. Any period of incapacity or treatment due to a chronic serious health condition that requires

    1. Periodic visits for treatment by a health care physician (Periodic visits has been defined to clarify at least 2 per year) and also:

    2. Continues over an extended period of time (including recurring episodes of a single condition)

    3. May cause episodic or intermittent periods of incapacity (asthma, diabetes etc)

  4. A permanent long term condition for which treatment may not be effective but the employee or family member is under the permanent supervision of a physician. Example : Stroke, Alzheimer's, terminal stages of a disease

  5. Any period of absence to receive multiple treatments or for a condition that would likely result in a period of incapacity of more than three days in the absence of medical intervention or treatment, such as cancer (chemotherapy, radiation etc)

Definition of Regimen of Continuing treatment

Includes a course of prescription medication or therapy requiring special equipment (ie. oxygen), physical therapy.
Treatments such as over the counter medication, bed-rest, drinking fluids, exercise and other similar activities that can occur without a visit to the physician are NOT by themselves, sufficient to constitute a regimen of continuing treatment.