| Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
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:
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.
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