Legislation given final congressional approval Tuesday, January 22, would
expand the federal Family and Medical Leave Act to allow employees to take up to
12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave when a spouse, son, daughter or parent
is on active duty in the military or is called up for active duty.
Under a provision tucked into a broader Defense Department authorization
measure, H.R. 4986, leave for close relatives of employees on active duty or
called up for military service in support of a contingency operation could be
taken for any “exigency,” as defined by regulations.
That expansion would be the first since Congress passed the FMLA 15 years ago
this month. The act requires employers to offer employees up to 12 weeks of
annual leave after the birth or adoption of a child, to care for a child, parent
or spouse who has a serious health condition, or when an employee has a serious
illness.
Additionally, the legislation, which the Senate passed Tuesday on a 91-3 vote
after the House cleared the measure in December, would allow employees to take
up to 26 weeks of leave under the FMLA—up from the current 12-week annual
maximum—to take care of a child, parent or spouse who incurred an injury during
military service when that injury results in the service member being unable to
perform his or her duties.
The FMLA expansion would go into effect as soon as President Bush signs the
legislation, which is expected. That will mean affected employers will have to
change their FMLA policies immediately and communicate the changes to
employees.
“This is a rather big deal. You have to be ready to deal with this,” says
Fran Bruno, an attorney with Mercer LLC in Washington.
Filed by Jerry Geisel of Business Insurance, a sister publication of
Workforce Management. To comment, e-mail editors@workforce.com.
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