FMLA Leave Compliance Check for US Employers

The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. §2601 et seq.) requires private employers with 50 or more employees in 20 or more workweeks in the current or previous calendar year to give eligible employees up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for the birth or placement of a child, their own serious health condition, caring for a spouse, child or parent with a serious health condition, and qualifying exigencies arising from a family member’s military service (§2612). Up to 26 workweeks are available to care for a covered servicemember. An employee is eligible after 12 months of employment and 1,250 hours of service in the last 12 months, at a worksite with 50 or more employees within 75 miles (§2611(2)). During leave the employer must keep up group health coverage on the same terms (§2614(c)), and on return the employee must be restored to the same or an equivalent job (§2614(a)).

The Department of Labor’s regulations at 29 CFR Part 825 add detailed duties: displaying the FMLA poster, giving eligibility and rights notices within five business days of learning that leave may qualify, designating leave as FMLA leave in writing, and keeping records for three years. Employees can sue for interference or retaliation under §2615, recovering lost wages, interest and an equal amount as liquidated damages plus attorney’s fees (§2617), within two years or three years for willful violations. Many states, including California, New York, New Jersey, Washington and Massachusetts, also run their own family leave or paid leave programs that may cover smaller employers and run alongside FMLA. Most claims come from poor notices and from treating leave as a reason for discipline, which are both easy to fix.

Use this free FMLA compliance check to see whether your business is meeting federal family and medical leave rules on eligibility, notices, certification and job restoration, and what to fix next.