The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is now extended to military families under the National Defense Authorization Act.1 Basically, there are two ways that the FMLA will now support military obligations:
- Military Caregiver Leave. Family members of covered service members may take up to 26 work weeks of leave in a single 12-month period to care for a covered service member “with a serious illness or injury incurred in the line of duty or on active duty. This provision also extends FMLA protection to additional family members (i.e., next of kin) beyond those who may take FMLA leave for other qualifying reasons.
- Qualifying Exigency Leave. FMLA job-protected leave is available to employees with a covered military member serving in the National Guard or Army Reserve for “any qualifying exigency” arising out of a call-up to active duty or active duty status. The Department of Labor’s final rule defines qualifying exigency by referring to a number of broad categories for which employees can use FMLA leave: (1) short-notice deployment, (2) military events and related activities, (3) childcare and school activities, (4) financial and legal arrangements, (5) counseling, (6) rest and recuperation, (7) post-deployment activities, and (8) additional activities not encompassed in the other categories but agreed to by the employer and employee.
The Department of Labor provides a fact sheet on its website that explains these requirements in detail.2
ENDNOTES
1. The relevant provisions are found in Section 585(a) of the National Defense Authorization Act. Public Law 110-181.
2. See the Department of Labor site for FMLA requirements related to the military.
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