February 11 - The Department of Labor (DOL) released a temporary FMLA poster insert outlining the changes affecting leave for military families. It is meant as a temporary mandatory poster to be posted along side your current Federal FMLA poster. It is likely that the release of the final revised Federal FMLA poster will not take place until the final changes in the proposal published in the Federal Register are in place (see below).
February 11 - The Department of Labor (DOL) published a proposal in the Federal Register to update its FMLA regulations, a measure that will help workers and their employers better understand their rights and responsibilities, and speed the implementation of a new law that expands FMLA coverage for certain military family members. Proposed changes include increased notice obligations for employers so that employees will better understand their FMLA rights, while revising the employee notice rules to minimize workplace disruptions due to unscheduled FMLA absences. The proposal also contains technical changes to reflect decisions by the Supreme Court and lower courts. A new section addresses recently enacted legislation to expand the FMLA entitlement to 26 work weeks for certain military family members caring for a service member with a serious illness or injury. The DOL is seeking public comment on these proposed changes by April 11, 2008.
January 28, 2008 - President Bush signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act for 2008 (NDAA). Included in this act are amendments to the Family Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) related to leave for employees with family members in the U.S. Military. The two new leave rights related to military service are:
New Leave Entitlement - Eligible employees who are a spouse, son, daughter, parent or next of kin of service members who are recovering from a serious illness or injury sustained in the line of duty on active duty, are entitled to up to 26 weeks of leave in a single 12-month period to provide care for the service member. This amendment took effect as soon as it was signed into law (1/28/08).
New Qualifying Reason for Leave - Eligible employees are entitled to up to 12 weeks of leave due to "any qualifying exigency" when a spouse, son, daughter, or parent of the employee is on active duty (or has been notified of an impending call to active duty status). The Secretary of Labor will issue regulations clearly defining "any qualifying exigency"; likely examples are overseas assignments, being recalled to active duty and troop mobilizations. This amendment is not effective until the Secretary of Labor issues final regulations, however, the Department of Labor (DOL) encourages employers to provide this type of leave to qualifying employees now.
What does this mean to you?