Recent Amendments to Family Military Leave Provisions of Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
Amendments to Family Medical Leave Act (”MFLA)
On October 28, 2009, President Obama signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 (”NDAA”). Although the NDAA is a defense appropriations law, it includes amendments to the family military leave provisions of the Family and Medical Leave Act (”FMLA”). These recent changes to FMLA deal primarily with qualifying exigency leave and military caregiver leave.
Qualifying Exigency Leave
The NDAA expands the exigency leave available under the FMLA to eligible family members of active-duty service members, and also amends the FMLA to provide eligible employees with up to 12 workweeks of leave during the designated 12-month FMLA leave year when the employee’s son, daughter or parent (who is a “covered military member”) is on active duty or call-to-active-duty status for one or more qualifying exigencies. Prior to these amendments, FMLA qualified exigency leave applied to Reserve and National Guard members only, and not members of the regular Armed Forces. Qualifying exigency leave includes: short-notice deployment; military events and related activities; child care and school activities; financial and legal arrangements; counseling, rest and recuperation; post-deployment activities; and any other event the employer and employee agree is a qualifying exigency.
Military Caregiver Leave
Additionally, the NDAA extends eligibility for military caregiver leave to the families of veterans, not just current members of the Armed Forces. Caregiver leave provides eligible employees, who are the spouse, son, daughter, parent or next of kin of covered military members of the Armed Forces, including members of the National Guard or Reserves, 26 workweeks of leave during a 12-month period to care for that military member, who because of a serious injury or illness, is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy, is in outpatient status, or is otherwise on the temporary disability retired list. The law extends the 26 weeks of leave to family members of veterans who are undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy for a serious injury or illness at any time during the period of five years preceding the date on which the veteran undergoes that treatment. Therefore, the caregiver would be able to take up to 26 weeks of leave to care for a veteran for up to five years after the military member leaves military service.
These changes, presumed to be effective immediately, will once again require employers to update their FMLA policies and inform proper personnel accordingly.
Julie Pfitzenmaier