Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) compliance

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The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides for up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave each year for any of the following reasons for eligible employees:

For the birth and care of the newborn child of the employee
For placement with the employee of a son or daughter for adoption or foster care
To care for an immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent) with a serious health condition
To take medical leave when the employee is unable to work because of a serious health condition.

Most employers are required to implement the FMLA (with the notable exception of employers who employ fewer than 50 employees).Employees who request FMLA may take leave in increments of 1 hour.

How is the Year Defined for FMLA?

For the purposes of the Family Medical Leave Act, the employer may choose any of the following four methods for defining a “year”.

The calendar year
Any fixed 12-month "leave year" such as a fiscal year, a year required by State law, or a year starting on the employee's "anniversary" date
The 12-month period measured forward from the date any employee's first FMLA leave begins
A "rolling" 12-month period measured backward from the date an employee uses FMLA leave

The employer must choose one method and make that method known to employees in advance of an employee taking FMLA leave.Otherwise, the employer is required to offer employees leave under FMLA under the “year’ choice that is most beneficial to the employee.

Employees Eligible for the Family Medical Leave Act

To be eligible for Family Medical Leave Act time off, the employee must:

Have worked for the employer for a total of 12 months, and
Have worked at least 1,250 hours over the previous 12 months, and
Work at a location in the United States or in any territory or possession of the United States where at least 50 employees are employed by the employer within 75 miles.

In addition, employers may designate certain highly compensated, “key individuals” who are not eligible for FMLA.The rules on this are strict, so pay attention to all the required notices.

Simplifying Compliance with the Family Medical Leave Act

WorkForce Software’s timesheet software simplifies the compliance aspects of the Family Medical Leave Act. By using our software, the employees and the employer get a straightforward solution to handling the complex details of tracking FMLA.Here is a summary of how our time and attendance solution accomplishes this:

Problem	Solution
Employees need to submit FMLA requests	Our software permits employees to make requests for FMLA and other types of time off online. Requests are routed to managers and/or HR for approval.
Employees need to submit documentation and fill out forms for FMLA leave	Our software can notify the HR department electronically whenever an employee requests FMLA leave. The necessary forms can then be delivered to the employee, electronically if desired.
There are 4 different methods for choosing a “calendar year”, some of which are very difficult to track manually	The WorkForce Software solution will allow you to select any of the 4 approved methods for choosing a calendar year.
Only employees who worked 1250 hours last year are eligible. Tracking this is difficult	The WorkForce Software timesheet system will automatically check to see if employees are eligible for FMLA. If an employee attempts to take FMLA without the required 1250 hours, they will be warned immediately.
Sick time must be used in conjunction with FMLA	Some employers choose to require employees to take paid sick leave for any FMLA events so that employees cannot take more than 12 consecutive weeks off. Our software provides mechanisms to automatically use sick time (paid) before FMLA leave (unpaid).

By using the WorkForce Software solution, you will dramatically lower the cost of complying with the Family Medical Leave Act as well as other labor laws.Please contact us for more details.

FMLA References

Official information on the Family Medical Leave Act can be found at the Department of Labor.We recommend you refer to the following bulletins and information sources for more information:

For an overview of all information available, see the Family Medical Leave Act Home Page at the US Department of Labor.

The Department of Labor also provides a FMLA Fact Sheet that provides a summary of the Family Medical Leave Act.

Employers should refer to the FMLA Compliance Guide for information on rules that they must comply with.

Those comfortable with reading long, legal documents will appreciate the text of the Family Medical Leave Act that was passed by Congress as well as the Code of the Federal Regulations that implements the Family Medical Leave Act.

Notice: The information above and the references are provided “as-is” without any representation as to their accuracy or applicability to your specific situation. We recommend that you seek competent legal advice for all employment issues.