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by Employment Law Attorney Leslie Lockard
The Law Office of Leslie Lockard, P.C.
Norwood Corporate Center
1500 Providence Highway, Suite 33
Norwood, MA 02062
(781) 551-0800
Llockard@leslielockard.com
www.leslielockard.com
The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) has just been amended to add two new reasons for which eligible employees can take FMLA leave. The FMLA applies to most businesses which employ 50 or more employees at the work site of the employee seeking leave, or within 75 miles of that work site. The two new provisions apply to employees who would be eligible for other types of FMLA leave: those who have worked for a sufficiently large employer (as described above) for a year, and have worked at least 1250 hours for the employer during the previous 12 month period. The first new provision allows an eligible employee "who is the spouse, son, daughter, parent or next of kin (nearest blood relative)" of a "covered service member" to take a total of 26 unpaid workweeks of FMLA leave during a 12 month period to care for the service member. A "covered service member" is a member of the Armed Forces, including a member of the National Guard or Reserves, who is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy, is otherwise in outpatient status, or on the temporary disability retired list, for a serious injury or illness. A "serious injury or illness" is defined as one incurred in the line of duty on active duty "that may render the member medically unfit to perform the duties of the member's office, grade, rank or rating". This 26 weeks of leave is available just once during a single 12 month period, as opposed to being available every year, as is the case with other types of 12-week FMLA leaves. An employee eligible for this new type of leave may elect, or the employer may require the employee, to substitute any accrued paid vacation, personal, family, medical or sick leave for unpaid leave, except the employer is not required to allow use of accrued paid sick or medical leave if such leave would not ordinarily be usable to care for sick or injured relatives. This type of military leave may be taken on intermittent basis during the year, rather than in a block all at once.
The second new type of military leave allows an otherwise eligible employee to take up to 12 weeks of leave per year "because of any qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that the spouse, son, daughter, or parent of the employee is on active duty, or has been notified of an impending call or order to active duty in the armed forces" in support of certain types of military operations. This provision will not take effect until the US Dept. of Labor issues regulations which define what a "qualifying exigency "is. This type of leave may also be taken on an intermittent basis. If employees seek to take both of the new types of leave in a single year, they will be limited to 26 weeks combined, as opposed to being able to stack 26 weeks and 12 weeks of military related leave in the same year.
The US Department of Labor will soon be issuing regulations further explaining rights and obligations relating to these new types of FMLA leave. I will write to you again once new these new regulations are issued.
THIS MEMORANDUM IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION ONLY, AND IS NOT INTENDED TO PROVIDE LEGAL
ADVICE AS TO ANY PARTICULAR SITUATION. EMPLOYMENT LAWS ARE CONSTANTLY SUBJECT TO
CHANGE. QUESTIONS ABOUT PARTICULAR SITUATIONS SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO A KNOWLEDGEABLE
EMPLOYMENT ATTORNEY.
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Contact Info |
Leslie Lockard
The Law Office of Leslie Lockard, P.C.
Norwood Corporate Center
1500 Providence Highway (Route 1) – Suite 33
Norwood, MA 02062
Phone: (781) 551-0800
FAX: (781) 551-0801
Llockard@leslielockard.com
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