Changes Made to the Family and Medical Leave Act

The Family and Medical Leave Act, better known as FMLA, was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1993. FMLA gives employees the right to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in a 12 month period to care for a newborn or newly adopted child or for a seriously ill parent, child or spouse without fear of losing their jobs. On November 17, 2008 the Wages and Hours Division of the U.S. Department of Labor published revisions to FMLA, the first since the law was enacted. These revisions will take effect in January of 2009. One major change to the law affects military families who either need time off to care for members of the military who have serious illnesses or injuries. They will be able to take up to 26 weeks during a 12 month period. Another change also affects military families who must step in to manage the affairs of a reservist or National Guardsman with certain qualifying situations such as short-notice deployment and post-deployment activities, to name only two.

With one hand the government giveth and with the other it taketh away. The revisions to the FMLA change the way employees must notify their employers of their desire to take leave. When one had an unforeseen illness that necessitated leave, he or she had up to two days following an absence to inform his or her employer. With the revised law, an employee will be required to use his or her employer’s standard call-in procedures used for all unscheduled absences to inform an employer of the need to use FMLA. That means notification must happen in advance of an absence.

Another change to FMLA involves medical certification. In order to address privacy concerns, an employee's direct supervisor will be prohibited from contacting the employee's healthcare provider to obtain medical certification. A healthcare provider, human resource professional, leave administrator or a management official will be the only representatives of an employer who may contact an employee's healthcare provider.

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