The Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) is a federal law providing eligible employees of covered employers with up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a chosen 12-month period for specified family and medical reasons. However, many other federal and state laws have their provisions relating to family and medical leave, as do employer policies and collective bargaining agreements. This often leads to complicated interactions between the various provisions employers should know about and provide clear guidance to their employees. Below are seven laws or rules that might affect how an employee uses their FMLA leave:
- Americans With Disabilities Act
The federal Americans With Disabilities Act (“ADA”) prohibits employers from discriminating against applicants and employees who are qualified individuals with a disability. If an employee is a qualified individual with a disability as defined in the ADA, the employer must provide the employee with reasonable accommodations that enable them to perform the essential functions of their job, absent undue hardship. Unpaid leave is a form of ADA reasonable accommodation that employers may run concurrently with FMLA leave if the disability also constitutes a serious health condition under the FMLA. - Pregnancy Discrimination Act
The federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 (PDA) prohibits workplace discrimination based on an employee’s pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. This prohibition requires employers to provide pregnant employees with the same benefits, including leave, as are provided to other employees with short-term disabilities. The PDA, however, does not require workers to be employed for a particular amount of time to be protected as the FMLA does. Consequently, employees employed for fewer than 12 months are ineligible for FMLA leave. Still, they may be entitled to maternity leave if the employer grants short-term disability leave to similarly situated workers with short-term disabilities. - State/Local Family and Medical Leave Laws
It is common for state and local governments to pass family and medical leave laws that provide similar employee leave rights to those of the FMLA. When an employee’s time-off request qualifies for FMLA leave and leave under state or local law, the employer can run the leaves concurrently. This means the absence will simultaneously count against the employee’s FMLA and state or local leave entitlements. - Fair Labor Standards Act
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) partially regulates employee minimum wage and overtime requirements under federal law. Ordinarily, employers cannot reduce an exempt employee’s pay for partial-day absences because it could cause the employee to lose the exemption and be owed for prior overtime hours. However, an exception to this rule is that employers may deduct hours taken as intermittent or reduced schedule FMLA leave from an exempt employee’s compensation, without affecting their FLSA exempt status. - Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act
The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (“USERRA”) protects the employment and reemployment rights of uniformed service members who leave their jobs to perform covered military duty. Among other things, USERRA requires returning service members to receive all employment benefits and rights they would have obtained if they had not reported for military service and had remained continuously employed. Consequently, to determine FMLA eligibility for a returning service member, the months and hours the service member would have worked during USERRA leave must be combined with the months and hours worked. - Workers’ Compensation
An employee’s on-the-job injury qualifying for workers’ compensation leave may also qualify as an FMLA serious health condition entitling the employee to FMLA leave. In this instance, employers may require the workers’ compensation leave to run concurrently with the FMLA leave. - Employer Policies and Collective Bargaining Agreements
If an employer has policies or a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) providing more generous protection than afforded by the FMLA, the employer must abide by the more generous terms of the policies or CBA. Furthermore, employer policies and CBA provisions may not be used to reduce a worker’s FMLA rights.
The FMLA and other laws and rules provide important benefits and safeguards for workers. By better understanding the interplay between these laws and rules, employers will have a more efficient leave program and improve profitability.
On the other hand, failing to understand the relation between the FMLA and other laws and how they may work together can cost an employer significantly in terms of lawsuits and penalties if they are not compliant. Employers seeking to navigate the complex requirements of federal, state, and local employee protection laws can benefit significantly from implementing workforce compliance software to automate compliance with federal, state, and local regulations.
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