The FMLA entitles eligible US employees to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year for birth/adoption, serious personal illness, or caring for an ill family member. Employers must maintain health benefits during leave.
The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq.) is administered by the DOL. It applies to employers with 50 or more employees within 75 miles. **Eligibility**: Employee must have worked for the employer for at least 12 months AND at least 1,250 hours in the past 12 months. **Leave entitlement**: 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year for: birth, adoption, or foster placement of a child; serious health condition of the employee; caring for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition; qualifying military exigency. Up to 26 weeks for caring for a covered military servicemember with serious injury. **Job protection**: Employer must restore the employee to the same or equivalent position upon return. **Health benefits**: Employer must maintain the employee's group health insurance during FMLA leave on the same terms. **Intermittent leave**: FMLA leave can be taken intermittently or in blocks, not necessarily all at once. Many states have their own family leave laws with broader coverage. State law may provide additional protections.
An employee has a heart attack and is hospitalised for 3 weeks, then recovers at home for another 6 weeks. He is on unpaid FMLA leave. When he returns, his employer must restore him to his job. Firing him for taking FMLA leave is illegal interference with FMLA rights.
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