Qualification

• FMLA requires employees have worked for the company for a year.
  
  To be eligible to receive unpaid leave under the FMLA, an employee must work for a company that has at least 50 employees within a 75-mile radius and the employee must have worked for the company for at least one year.
  
  

Benefits Under the FMLA

• Employees can take FMLA leave to care for a sick spouse or child.
  
  The FMLA provides employees with 12 weeks of unpaid leave for conditions such as the birth of a child, a major illness, or to care for an ill spouse or child.
  
  

Guarantees Under the FMLA

• FMLA guarantees an employee will retain his position when he returns to work.
  
  The FMLA guarantees an employee will be restored to her position upon her return to work and at the same pay rate. The employee is also guaranteed her benefits will resume once she returns to work.
  
  

Pregnancy

• FMLA allows pregnant women to take 12 weeks of unpaid leave.
  
  Maternity leave is covered in the FMLA under the "serious health condition" provision, allowing a woman to take time off from work for prenatal and pregnancy care.
  
  

Nonqualifying Factors Under the FMLA

• Domestic partners are not covered under the FMLA.
  
  Under the FMLA, employees are not permitted to take time off to care for a seriously ill domestic partner, or to recover from short-term illnesses or for routine medical care.
  
  

State Laws Enhancing FMLA Benefits

• States can create protections that extend beyond those of the FMLA.
  
  While states are not permitted to provide less benefits than the FMLA provides, they are permitted to enhance employee-leave statutes to provide additional protections that exceed the provisions of the FMLA.