Employer Alert:

New Leave Requirement

Effective July 1, 2007, Indiana employers will be required to provide a new form of leave to their employees. A new law requires certain employers to provide ten days of unpaid leave ("Military Family Leave") per year to employees whose family members are placed on active military duty, on leave from active duty, or returning from military service.

Similar to the Family and Medical Leave Act, only employees who have worked for their employer for at least twelve months and have worked at least 1,500 hours in the past twelve months are eligible for Military Family Leave. In addition, the employee who seeks Military Family Leave must be either the spouse, grandparent, or sibling of the person ordered to, or returning from, active duty military service. An employee who is eligible for and wants to take advantage of the new law is required to provide written notice to his or her employer of intent to take Military Family Leave at least thirty days before the requested leave date, unless the employee's family member is ordered to active duty with less than thirty days' notice.

Employers may require their employees, or employees may elect, to substitute accrued vacation or personal leave for any part of the 10-day period. The law requires the employer to restore the employee who takes Military Family Leave to his or her position, or an equivalent position, following the period of Military Family Leave. Employers who fail to comply with the new law may be subject to civil suit. The law authorizes courts to enjoin any practice that violates the law as well as to order any other equitable relief. To find out whether your business will be impacted by this new law, contact one of Ice Miller's labor and employment attorneys.

Please contact Tami Earnhart at tami.earnhart@icemiller.com or Germaine Willett at germaine.willett@icemiller.com with any questions you have on the new leave requirement.

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.