The Family and Medical Leave Act

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was designed to help employees balance their work and family responsibilities by allowing certain employees to take reasonable unpaid leave for certain family and medical reasons. The FMLA entitles eligible employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year for specified family and medical reasons. Under some circumstances, employees may take FMLA leave intermittently—which means taking leave in blocks of time, or by reducing their normal weekly or daily work schedule. The law permits an employee to elect, or the employer to require the employee, to use accrued paid leave, such as vacation or sick leave, for some or all of the FMLA leave period. A number of states have enacted family and medical leave laws, some of which provide greater amounts of leave and benefits than those provided by FMLA, or include coverage for employees who are not eligible for FMLA.