Q&A

What are the rules for intermittent FMLA leave?

What are the rules for intermittent FMLA leave?

Entitlement to Intermittent Leave Under the FMLA, covered employers generally must provide eligible employees up to 12 workweeks of unpaid family and medical leave in a 12-month period for: the birth of a child and to bond with the newborn child within one year of birth;

When is signal leave covered by the FMLA?

However, employees do need to provide enough information to signal leave may be covered by the FMLA. Employers and their managers will need to understand when employee requests may need to be flagged and/or funneled to HR as potentially covered by the FMLA.

Do you have to use up your FMLA time?

Employers may require that employees use up paid leave time for their intermittent FMLA absences.

When did the new FMLA regulations take effect?

January 2009 and February 2013 saw the institution of new FMLA regulations which made important changes in how employers must administer the legalities of the FMLA. Leave under the FMLA in certain situations may be intermittent or taken pursuant to a “reduced leave schedule” which shortens an employee’s normal daily or weekly work schedule.

Entitlement to Intermittent Leave Under the FMLA, covered employers generally must provide eligible employees up to 12 workweeks of unpaid family and medical leave in a 12-month period for: the birth of a child and to bond with the newborn child within one year of birth;

However, employees do need to provide enough information to signal leave may be covered by the FMLA. Employers and their managers will need to understand when employee requests may need to be flagged and/or funneled to HR as potentially covered by the FMLA.

Can a company make FMLA retroactive to 12 weeks?

The employer can’t make the FMLA leave retroactive, and letting the employee take more than 12 weeks of leave affects staffing and productivity, Idalski said. “Management must initiate the FMLA process with HR right away,” she emphasized.

What can an employer do under the FMLA?

The FMLA prohibits an employer from interfering with, restraining, or denying an eligible employee the exercise of any right to leave under the Act. And, to succeed on a claim of interference, the employee doesn’t need to prove animus or discrimination or anything like that.

Can a employer demand a doctor’s note for an intermittent FMLA absence?

The court noted that neither the FMLA nor its regulations provide for any other means by which an employer can require documentation from an employee’s medical provider, explaining: ” [h]ad Congress, or the Department of Labor, desired to permit employers to demand such intermittent verifications, the statute or regulations would provide as much.

What makes a spouse subject to FMLA qualifying leave?

Spouse also includes a husband or wife in a marriage that was validly entered into outside of the United States, if the marriage could have been entered into in at least one state. For which FMLA-qualifying leave reasons are spouses subject to the combined limitation?

Can you take intermittent leave for birth and bonding?

In the case of birth and bonding leave, however, an employer may, but is not required to, permit an employee to take leave on an intermittent basis or reduced leave schedule. “Intermittent leave” is leave taken in separate blocks of time due to a single qualifying reason.

What do you need to know about intermittent FMLA?

Intermittent FMLA: Everything You Need to Know. Intermittent FMLA is leave taken pursuant to the Family Medical Leave Act for taken in separate, non-consecutive time periods rather than a single span of time.8 min read.

What are the reasons for taking FML leave?

FML may be taken for the following reasons: The care of a child following birth or the adoption or placement of a child with a staff member for foster care; The care of a family member (spouse, registered same-sex partner, child, or parent) who has a serious health condition;

Spouse also includes a husband or wife in a marriage that was validly entered into outside of the United States, if the marriage could have been entered into in at least one state. For which FMLA-qualifying leave reasons are spouses subject to the combined limitation?

When to give notice of family medical leave?

If at all practical, the staff member should provide at least 30 days notice prior to the date on which the leave is to begin. A staff member who is eligible for family medical leave and the reason for the absence qualifies for family medical leave; the time will be attributed to family medical leave.