DOL Issues Updated FMLA Fact Sheets

In January, the DOL issued five fact sheets that focus on different aspects of the FMLA.

Fact Sheet 28D explains employers’ obligations to provide employees with information about their FMLA rights and responsibilities. The FMLA requires employers to distribute the following notices to employees who request leave that could qualify as FMLA leave: the General Notice; the Eligibility Notice; the Rights and Responsibilities Notice; and the Designation Notice. The fact sheet describes the function of each notice, as well as the appropriate time to distribute them. The fact sheet also reminds employers of the consequences of failing to provide the notices and notes that the FMLA does not preclude any requirements imposed by state law.

Fact Sheet 28E explains how employees request FMLA leave. To start, the fact sheet summarizes who is eligible for FMLA leave and the reasons for which eligible employees can take this leave. The fact sheet then reminds employees to follow procedures for requesting leave as outlined in their employers’ leave policies. Although an employee does not have to state that they are seeking FMLA leave, they should provide the employer with enough information to allow the employer to conclude that the leave is FMLA leave and designate it accordingly. In any event, the fact sheet reminds employees that they should provide at least 30 days’ notice, if possible. The fact sheet also reminds employees of the consequences of failing to provide a proper request for FMLA leave and notes that the FMLA does not preclude any requirements imposed by state law.

Fact Sheet 28H explains the four options that employers may use to establish the 12-month period for taking FMLA leave for most leave reasons. The fact sheet reminds employers that eligible employees may use up to 12 workweeks of FMLA leave in a defined 12-month period or “leave year.” The four options for establishing the leave year are:

• The calendar year.
• Any fixed 12-month period, such as a year starting on the employee’s anniversary date, a fiscal year, or a 12-month period required by state law.
• A 12-month period measured forward from the first date an employee takes FMLA leave.
• A “rolling” 12-month period measured backward from the date an employee takes FMLA leave.

Fact sheet 28I explains how to count the amount of leave available and the amount of leave used under the FMLA. The fact sheet states that an employee’s entitlement to FMLA leave may be converted from workweeks to an hourly equivalent, a process based on the employee’s total normally scheduled hours. The fact sheet provides examples and highlights special rules for situations when it is physically impossible for an employee using intermittent leave or working a reduced leave schedule to begin or end work midway through a shift, as well as rules for airline flight crews.

Finally, Fact Sheet 28L explains the amount of FMLA leave available to spouses who work for the same employer. Under the FMLA, spouse means a husband or wife as defined or recognized in the state where the individual was married, including individuals in a common-law marriage and married same-sex couples. Under the FMLA, spouses who work for the same employer share the total number of workweeks of FMLA leave available for certain reasons:

• The birth of a child.
• Placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care.
• Care for a parent with a serious health condition.

Spouses may each use a total of 12 workweeks of FMLA leave in a leave year for:

• Their own serious health condition.
• To care for a spouse or child with a serious health condition.
• Due to a qualifying exigency.

The fact sheet provides examples of how this is administered.

Covered employers with eligible employees should be aware of these fact sheets.

Fact Sheet 28D »
Fact Sheet 28E »
Fact Sheet 28H »
Fact Sheet 28I »
Fact Sheet 28L »