What would you do if you had to choose between taking care of a sick child and going to work? In 1993, Congress passed the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to provide job protection for employees in just such situations.
The FMLA requires employers with 50 or more employees in a 75-mile radius to grant up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to an employee who needs to take time away from work because of his or her own illness; to care for a sick member of his or her immediate family (such as a child, spouse, father, or mother) but not including his spouse’s immediate family; and for the birth, adoption, or foster care of his or her child.
Employees must have worked for the employer for at least 12 months and for 1,250 hours during the 12 months preceding the beginning of the leave.
Except in the case of key employees, the law requires that the employer provide the same or an equivalent job for the employee when he or she returns from FMLA leave. Equivalent refers to both pay and duties. Key employees are those whose absence could lead to substantial and grievous economic loss to the company.
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