Family and Medical Leave Act

The new regulations to implement the 2008 amendments to the Family and Medical Leave Act became effective January 16, 2009. While there are revised forms as well as new obligations, your FMLA policies and procedures may not require many, if any, changes. We encourage you to take a look at some of the materials we have below for more guidance. There is a short article on the FMLA changes in our Winter 2009 Employment Advisor, and we have reprinted the FMLA article here.

Articles

Here are the new forms needed for Military Family provisions of the new regulations:
Certification of Qualifying Exigency for Military and Family Leave
Certification of Serious Illness or Injury of Covered Servicemember

Here are more general forms for employees requesting FMLA leave:
Certification of Health Care Provider for Employee's Serious Health Condition
Certification for Family Member's Serious Health Condition
Notice of Eligibility and Rights and Responsibilities

Employers are still required to post FMLA rights in a conspicuous place where employees will be able to see it. Here is the recommended poster from the U.S. Department of Labor.

Also available is a fact sheet from the U.S. Department of Labor summarizing the changes.

The U.S. Department of Labor has a website with all of these forms and more guidance. You can find it at http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla/finalrule.htm

For more individualized guidance, please contact one of our attorneys.