Roll With the Changes:  The FMLA Changes Again

On October 28, 2009, President Obama signed into law changes to provisions of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).  These changes affect the recently created military family leave provisions of the FMLA by broadening the availability of qualifying exigency leave and servicemember caregiver leave.  Under the new law, more employees may be eligible for these types of leave.  Employers need to be familiar with these changes and revise their policies and forms to reflect the new law.

As you may already know, in 2008, qualifying exigency leave was available only to family members of the National Guard and Reserves. That is, family members of active duty service members could not take qualifying exigency leave. The newly enacted law changes the availability of such leave. Now, it is available to family members of reservists who are deployed to a foreign country and members of the regular Armed Forces who are deployed to a foreign country. Thus, employers must now offer qualifying exigency leave to family members of both the reserves and the regular Armed Forces, if the servicemember has been deployed to a foreign country.

A second change affects servicemember caregiver leave. Under the 2008 amendment, servicemember caregiver leave was available only to family members of current members of the military who had been injured in the line of duty. Under the new law, family members of some veterans will now qualify. Specifically, family members of veterans who are undergoing medical treatment, recuperation or therapy for a serious injury or illness sustained in the line of duty on active duty that occurred any time during the five years preceding the date of treatment (even if it did not manifest until after active duty) are now eligible to take servicemember caregiver leave.

Employers should update their FMLA policies to reflect these changes. They also should ensure that any forms they are using for administering FMLA leave adequately take into account these reasons for leave. The new law does not contain an explicit effective date, but employers should assume that the changes are effective immediately and revise their practices accordingly.

If you have any questions related to this new legislation, please contact Tami Earnhart or another member of Ice Miller's Labor and Employment Practice Group.

This publication is intended for general information purposes only and does not and is not intended to constitute legal advice.  The reader must consult with legal counsel to determine how laws or decisions discussed herein apply to the reader's specific circumstances.