The Family and Medical Leave Act is a set of employment laws signed into law in 1993 by President Bill Clinton. The Act grants employees the ability to take 12 weeks of unpaid leave from their jobs in any 12 month period under certain circumstances. The 12 weeks of leave does not have to be taken all at once and can be split up throughout any 12 month period. Here’s an overview.

Reasons to Take an Unpaid Leave:

• If you have an illness that makes it impossible for you to work.
• If you need to take care of your newborn child or a child you have recently adopted or who has been placed into your home for foster care.
• If you have to take care of a seriously ill spouse, child or parent.
• If you have to take care of a spouse in the military who was injured in the line of duty. In this case you may take up to 26 weeks of unpaid leave in any 12 month period.
• Under some circumstances you are also allowed to take an unpaid leave to attend to the affairs of a spouse in the National Guard or Reserve.

Am I Eligible?

• Your employer must have 50 or more employees within a 75 mile area.
• You must have worked for the employer for at least twelve months for a total of 1,250 hours.

What Protections Do I Have?

• Your employer is required to give you the same or equal position when you return from your leave.
• You will also return to the same pay and benefits.
• You cannot lose any of the accrued benefits such as personal or sick time that you had saved up before you went on leave.
• If you have group health insurance through your employer they must continue to cover you while you are on leave, although you must still pay your share.
• Your employer is not allowed to discriminate or retaliate against you in any way for taking leave.

What are my responsibilities?

• You must give your employer 30 days notice for any foreseeable leave.
• You must keep your employer informed about when you plan to return to work.
• You must keep your employer informed if you plan to split your leave time up.
• If your employer asks for it, you must provide medical certification to begin your leave and to return to work.