This Act entitles employees at companies with 50 or more employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave (which may be taken sporadically) each year for a specified list of family and medical reasons. Only those employees who have worked for the employer for a total of at least 12 months, and worked for the employer for at least 1,250 hours in the last 12 months are covered by the Act. A further restriction is that an employee must work at a company location where at least 50 employees are employed within a 75-mile radius of the facility. Valid reasons for taking the leave of absence include the birth of a child, serious illness, or caring for a family member with a serious illness.
During their absence, an employer must continue to provide medical insurance coverage if it had been taken by the employee prior to the leave of absence, though the employee can be charged for that portion of the expense that had been deducted from his or her pay prior to the leave. If the employee does not pay this portion of the expense within 30 days, the insurance can be cancelled for the remainder of the leave, but must be restored once the employee returns to work.
Upon returning from a leave of absence, an employee must be given the same or equivalent job, with the same level of pay and benefits that he or she had before the leave. In certain cases where job restoration would cause significant economic damage to an employer, key positions will not be restored to returning employees.
This Act is enforced by the U.S. Labor Department’s Employment Standards Administration, Wage and Hour Division. If violations are not resolved by this entity, the Department can sue employers to compel compliance.