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The FMLA Basics
Here’s what the FMLA statute itself – before court and agency interpretations -- tells us.
Under the FMLA, an “eligible” employee may take up to 12 work weeks of leave during any 12 month period, for any one of the following reasons:
- For the birth of a child, and to care for the newborn child;
- For the placement of a child with the employee through adoption or foster care, and to care for the child;
- To care for the employee's spouse, son, daughter, or parent with a serious health condition; and
- Because a serious health condition makes the employee unable to perform one or more of the essential functions of his or her job.
Employees are "eligible" for FMLA leave if they: (1) have been employed by a “covered" employer for at least 12 months, which need not be consecutive; (2) had at least 1,250 hours of service during the 12-month period immediately before the leave started; and (3) are employed at a worksite where the employer employs 50 or more employees within 75 miles.
During FMLA leave, an employer must maintain the employee's existing level of coverage under a group plan.
And, very significantly, at the end of FMLA leave, an employer must reinstate the employee into the same or an equivalent job. (There is a limited exception: where reinstatement will cause “substantial and grievous economic injury,” an employer may refuse to reinstate certain “key” employees, provided, among other things, that the employer notified the employee of his or her “key” status and the reasons for denying reinstatement.)
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