Wage and Hour Division (WHD)
From DOL website
Family and Medical Leave Act
Overview
The FMLA entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid,
job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons with
continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and
conditions as if the employee had not taken leave. Eligible employees are
entitled to:
Twelve workweeks of leave in a 12-month period for:
the birth of a child and to care for the newborn child within one year of
birth;
the placement with the employee of a child for adoption or foster care and
to care for the newly placed child within one year of placement;
to care for the employee’s spouse, child, or parent who has a serious
health condition;
a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the
essential functions of his or her job;
any qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that the employee’s spouse
, son, daughter, or parent is a covered military member on “covered active
duty;” or
Twenty-six workweeks of leave during a single 12-month period to care for a
covered servicemember with a serious injury or illness if the eligible
employee is the servicemember’s spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of
kin (military caregiver leave).
Key News
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division today announced a
Final Rule to revise the definition of spouse under the Family and Medical
Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) in light of the United States Supreme Court’s
decision in United States v. Windsor, which found section 3 of the Defense
of Marriage Act (DOMA) to be unconstitutional. The Final Rule amends the
definition of spouse so that eligible employees in legal same-sex marriages
will be able to take FMLA leave to care for their spouse or family member,
regardless of where they live. More information is available at the Wage and
Hour Division’s FMLA Final Rule Website.
