E-Alerts

Have You Updated Your FMLA Compliance Package?

Earlier this year, the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) was amended to include “servicemember family leave.”  If you have not done so already, we recommend that you update your organization’s FMLA forms to reflect the changes in the FMLA.

This article describes many of the updates needed to bring your FMLA forms into compliance – all of which have been incorporated into the Firm’s FMLA Compliance Package.

As you will recall, the FMLA’s new servicemember provisions permit all eligible employees to:  (a) take up to twelve (12) weeks of FMLA leave in certain circumstances when a spouse, child or parent is on, or called to, active duty in the United States military (“Active Duty Family Leave”), or (b) take up to twenty-six (26) weeks of FMLA leave in order to care for a spouse, child, parent or next of kin who suffers a serious injury or illness in the line of duty for the United States military (“Injured Service member Leave”).

Some of the key features of Injured Servicemember Leave include:

• This leave is limited to “a single 12-month period,” a limitation that the Department of Labor is expected to clarify in its implementing regulations, at some point in the future.
• This leave applies to the care of Armed Forces members, National Guard members and Reservists who are undergoing medical treatment, recuperation or therapy, are in medical hold or medical holdover status, or are on the temporary disability retired list for a serious injury or illness.
• A serious injury or illness means an illness or injury incurred in the line of duty while on active duty “that may render the member medically unfit to perform the duties of the member’s office, grade, rank, or rating.”
• Employees are eligible for this leave if they are a servicemember’s next of kin, defined as closest blood relative, a broader category than the FMLA has previously recognized.
• The combined total amount of leave that may be taken for Injured Servicemember Leave and leave for any other purpose under the FMLA is twenty-six (26) weeks during a single twelve (12) month period.

We recommend that employers update their policies and practices to reflect the recent expansion of the FMLA.  To assist employers in complying with the new provisions of the FMLA, we can provide a recently revised FMLA Compliance Package that includes, among other things: (1) an updated Summary of the FMLA that provides an overview of how to administer the FMLA and describes the recent amendments to the FMLA; (2) a checklist that outlines the steps associated with properly responding to employees’ requests for leave and/or designating leave as FMLA leave; and (3) updated FMLA forms and documentation.

While the Department of Labor has not yet issued a recommended form for use with leave related to Injured Servicemember Leave, we have developed a Certification for Injured Servicemember Leave form which can be tailored for your organization’s use.

We also offer a training program that teaches proper use of the FMLA forms and provides detailed instructions for FMLA compliance.

Please feel free to contact any of the Firm’s attorneys if you have questions about the FMLA or any other matter.