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You do not have to share a medical diagnosis but must provide enough
information to your employer so they can determine whether the leave
qualifies for FMLA protection. You must also inform your employer if
FMLA leave was previously taken or approved for the same reason
when requesting additional leave.
Your employer may request certification from a health care provider
to verify medical leave and may request certification of a qualifying
exigency.
The FMLA does not affect any federal or state law prohibiting
discrimination or supersede any state or local law or collective bargaining
agreement that provides greater family or medical leave rights.
State employees may be subject to certain limitations in pursuit of direct
lawsuits regarding leave for their own serious health conditions. Most
federal and certain congressional employees are also covered by the
law but are subject to the jurisdiction of the U.S. Office of Personnel
Management or Congress.
What does my
employer need to do?
If you are eligible for FMLA leave, your employer must:
• Allow you to take job-protected time off work for a qualifying reason,
• Continue your group health plan coverage while you are on leave on
the same basis as if you had not taken leave, and
• Allow you to return to the same job, or a virtually identical job with
the same pay, benefits and other working conditions, including shift
and location, at the end of your leave.
Your employer cannot interfere with your FMLA rights or threaten or
punish you for exercising your rights under the law. For example, your
employer cannot retaliate against you for requesting FMLA leave or
cooperating with a WHD investigation.
After becoming aware that your need for leave is for a reason that may
qualify under the FMLA, your employer must confirm whether you are
eligible or not eligible for FMLA leave. If your employer determines that
you are eligible, your employer must notify you in writing:
• About your FMLA rights and responsibilities, and
• How much of your requested leave, if any, will be FMLA-protected
leave.
Where can I find more
information?
Call 1-866-487-9243 or visit dol.gov/fmla to learn more.
If you believe your rights under the FMLA have been violated, you may
file a complaint with WHD or file a private lawsuit against your employer
in court. Scan the QR code to learn about our WHD complaint process.
Your Employee Rights
Under the Family and
Medical Leave Act
What is FMLA leave?
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal law that provides
eligible employees with job-protected leave for qualifying family and
medical reasons. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division
(WHD) enforces the FMLA for most employees.
Eligible employees can take up to 12 workweeks of FMLA leave
in a 12-month period for:
• The birth, adoption or foster placement of a child with you,
• Your serious mental or physical health condition that makes you
unable to work,
• To care for your spouse, child or parent with a serious mental or
physical health condition, and
• Certain qualifying reasons related to the foreign deployment of your
spouse, child or parent who is a military servicemember.
An eligible employee who is the spouse, child, parent or next of kin of a
covered servicemember with a serious injury or illness may take up to
26 workweeks of FMLA leave in a single 12-month period to care for the
servicemember.
You have the right to use FMLA leave in one block of time. When it is
medically necessary or otherwise permitted, you may take FMLA leave
intermittently in separate blocks of time, or on a reduced schedule by
working less hours each day or week. Read Fact Sheet #28M(c) for more
information.
FMLA leave is not paid leave, but you may choose, or be required by your
employer, to use any employer-provided paid leave if your employer’s
paid leave policy covers the reason for which you need FMLA leave.
Am I eligible to take
FMLA leave?
You are an eligible employee if all of the following apply:
• You work for a covered employer,
• You have worked for your employer at least 12 months,
• You have at least 1,250 hours of service for your employer during
the 12 months before your leave, and
• Your employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles
of your work location.
Airline flight crew employees have different “hours of service”
requirements.
You work for a covered employer if one of the following applies:
• You work for a private employer that had at least 50 employees during
at least 20 workweeks in the current or previous calendar year,
• You work for an elementary or public or private secondary school, or
• You work for a public agency, such as a local, state or federal
government agency. Most federal employees are covered by Title II
of the FMLA, administered by the Office of Personnel Management.
How do I request
FMLA leave?
Generally, to request FMLA leave you must:
• Follow your employer’s normal policies for requesting leave,
• Give notice at least 30 days before your need for FMLA leave, or
• If advance notice is not possible, give notice as soon as possible.
WAGE AND HOUR DIVISION
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR