Family
and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
Q. How many employees do I ned
to have to be covered by the Family and
Medical Leave Act?
A. The minimum number is fifty
in any one location or in several locations
if they are within 75 miles of each other "as the crow
flies."
Q. Are employees eligible for
rights under the FMLA as soon as they are
hired?
A. No. To be eligible for rights
under the FMLA the employee must have
beeon on the payroll for at least 12 months and have worked
at least 1250
hours in that 12 month period.
Q. If I had 50 employees last
year but only forty seven employees this
year, is my company still covered under the FMLA?
A. Possibly. It depends on how
long it has been since you dropped below
fifty employees. For example an employee who was with you
when you had
fifty employees and had an event that is covered under the
FMLA at that
time, is still protected even though you are now below fifty
employees.
Q. My husband and I both work
for the same company. Now I am pregnant.
Are we both entitled to 12 weeks unpaid leave each, when it
comes time to
have the baby?
A. No. In your situation since
you both work for the same employer you are
entitled to a combined leave of 12 weeks. So, you could take
nine weeks and
your husband could take three weeks for a total of 12 weeks.
This is
assuming that you and your husband meet the other eligibility
requirements
under the FMLA.
Q. My wife and I are adopting
a baby from China. This will require our
traveling to China and being gone for up to three weeks. Will
this time off
qualify for leave under the FMLA?
A. The short answer is yes. There
may be specifics that could change this,
but the FMLA specifically addresses time off for the placement
of a child in
the home through adoption or foster care.
Q. Who enforces the FMLA?
A. The FMLA is enforced by the
Department of Labor. For more information
on the DOL click here.
For specific answers to specific
legal questions concerning the Family and
Medical Leave Act send us an
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