Legal Updates

12/18/2007

Bill Expands FMLA to Include Military Family Members

Congress voted last week to approve legislation that includes a provision that would expand the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) to provide job-protected leave to workers to care for wounded soldiers and to immediate family members of reservists called to active duty. If President Bush signs the bill, H.R. 1585 would be the first legislative expansion of the FMLA since its passage.

The new legislation contains a provision that entitles an eligible employee who is the spouse, child, parent or next of kin of a covered servicemember a total of 26 weeks of unpaid leave to care for the servicemember if he or she is wounded while serving in the U.S. military. The 26 weeks of leave would be available only during a single 12-month period and could be taken intermittently, in increments equal to the shortest period of time tracked by an employer’s payroll system. A husband and wife who work for the same employer may be limited to taking a total of 26 workweeks of leave during a 12-month period.

H.R. 1585 would also provide up to 12 weeks of FMLA leave to the immediate family members of a reservist or member of the National Guard who is called to active military duty. An employer would be allowed to require certification of the impending call to active duty.

The bill as approved by Congress did not contain an effective date for the FMLA expansion but it is expected that the President will sign the bill into law sometime in the near future.

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