A guide to the Family and Medical Leave Act

Every place of employment is required to give their employees a specified number of days off. Many companies do not like giving employees long periods of time off because it can affect the company’s productivity. There was a law (the family and medical leave act) put into place to protect employees and their job. This law protects employees whenever they have to take extended periods of time off. Read this article to learn more about the Family and Medical Leave Act.

What is the Family and Medical Leave Act?

Definition There comes a point in time when employees may have to unexpectedly take time off of work and when that happens employees shouldn’t be concern about losing their job. The Family and Medical Leave Act is a law that was established to protect employees. This law allows employees to take unpaid time off for a sickness, caring for a sick family member or having a baby. An employee is allowed to return to their job without having any consequences. Who does this law cover? The Family and Medical Leave Act covers a lot of employees but not everyone. This law covers full-time or part-time employees; the employees must be employed by the government or a company which has 50 or more workers. Moreover, an employee who has been employed for at least one year by the same employer, and have accumulated 1,250 hours worked, is also covered.
Who doesn’t the law cover? This law does not cover an employee who works for a company that has less than 50 employees. Furthermore, if you are considered a high paid important employee of your company, this law does not cover you. A high paid employee is someone who is paid in the top 10% of its company.

Facts about the Family and Medical Leave Act

How much time off is allowed An employee is allowed a total of 12 weeks of unpaid time off, for a Family and Medical Leave request. The time off can be taken all at once, time or as blocks of time. An employee has the right to take off a couple of hours, if needed for doctor’s appointments, or a couple of days if needed for recovery.
As a matter of fact, paid sick and vacation days can be counted as part of the 12 weeks of time off. Returning to work Employees returning to work from a Family and Medical Leave absence are entitled to return to their same job or a job that is equal in pay and benefits. Often, when an employee takes extended time off, their job duties are being temporarily covered by a co-worker.