Final Family and Medical Leave Act Regulations Issued

         The final Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) regulations will be published in the Federal Register on Monday, November 17.  They are available on the Federal Register's Web site now, but, in the current format, they are 762 pages long.  They will be effective 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. 

         The final regulations contain various structural changes, along with some substantive changes, to the current FMLA regulations.  Many of the proposed regulations were adopted without change, while some sections were changed based on comments received during the comment period.  Importantly, the new regulations address the amendments to the FMLA earlier this year for service member family leave - military caregiver leave and qualifying exigency leave.  This is significant because, under the 2008 amendments to the FMLA, employers were not required to provide qualifying exigency leave until regulations were published.  Employers will now need to modify their FMLA policies to comply with this new form of FMLA leave.

         Ice Miller is in the process of reviewing the proposed regulations in further detail and will provide a summary of the changes in the near future.  Please look for future alerts and/or articles in our Informed Employer Briefing.

      In the meantime, if you have any questions related to these final regulations or any other FMLA issues, please contact Tami Earnhart, Paul Sinclair or any other member of our 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.