FMLA: Who Gets Job-Protected Leave

1Are you covered?

Four conditions must all be met:

• A covered employer: a private employer with 50 or more employees, or any public agency or public or private elementary or secondary school.
• At least 12 months working for the employer, which do not have to be in a row.
• At least 1,250 hours actually worked in the 12 months before the leave begins, about 24 hours a week. Vacation and sick time do not count toward the hours.
• A worksite where the employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles.

Part-time workers, new employees and people at small employers may not qualify. If you do not, a state leave law, your employer's own policy or the Americans with Disabilities Act may still protect some time off, so a "no" here is not the end of the question.

2Does your reason qualify?

The law covers the birth of a child and caring for the newborn; the placement of a child for adoption or foster care; caring for a spouse, child or parent with a serious health condition; your own serious health condition that makes you unable to do your job; and two military situations.

A serious health condition generally means an illness, injury or condition that needs inpatient care or continuing treatment by a health care provider: an incapacity of more than three days with ongoing treatment, a chronic condition such as diabetes or asthma that causes episodes, or pregnancy and prenatal care. A cold or the flu usually does not qualify. Caring for a son or daughter 18 or older qualifies only if a disability leaves them unable to care for themselves. Caring for a parent-in-law, a grandparent or a sibling is not covered by the federal law unless that person stood in the place of a parent to you, though some state laws cover more relatives.

3How much time, and does it have to be all at once?

Swipe sideways to see the whole table.

The 12 weeks are a total across all reasons in a 12-month period, which the employer defines, such as the calendar year or a rolling year measured back from the date you use leave. Ask which it uses; it decides when your weeks renew. Spouses who work for the same employer may be limited to 12 weeks combined for a new child.

Leave taken in pieces, a day every two weeks for a parent's chemotherapy or a reduced schedule after surgery, counts only for the time actually taken.

4What happens to your job and health insurance?

During leave your employer must keep your group health coverage on the same terms as if you were working; you generally keep paying your share of the premium, so ask how to pay it while you are not receiving a paycheck. When you return, you must be restored to the same or an equivalent job with the same pay, benefits and working conditions.

There are limits. The protection does not shield you from a layoff that would have happened anyway, and a small group of the highest-paid employees can be denied restoration in limited circumstances if the employer tells them in advance. If you decide not to go back, the employer may be able to recover the health premiums it paid during your leave, unless something outside your control, such as a continuing serious health condition, kept you away.

5How do you ask?

Give your employer 30 days' notice when the need is foreseeable, such as a birth or planned surgery, and as soon as practical when it is not. You do not have to use the words "FMLA," but you must give enough information for your employer to know the leave may qualify. Follow your employer's usual call-in rules where you can, and put the request in writing.

Your employer must tell you within five business days whether you are eligible and what it requires. It may ask for a medical certification from a health care provider, which you generally have at least 15 calendar days to return, and for a fitness-for-duty certification before you come back from your own medical leave. Once it has enough information, it must also tell you in writing whether the leave counts as FMLA leave and how much of your 12 weeks it will use. Missing the certification deadline is one of the easiest ways to lose protection, so mark it, and keep copies of everything you send and receive.

6Will you get paid?

FMLA itself provides no pay. You may use accrued vacation and sick leave during it, and your employer can require you to. Other ways to replace some income include short-term disability insurance through an employer, and paid family and medical leave programs, which more than a dozen states and D.C. now run or have enacted, usually funded by small payroll contributions. Your state labor department can tell you what exists and how to apply, and state benefits can run at the same time as FMLA leave.

Unemployment benefits generally are not paid while you are on leave from a job you still have, because you are not available for work. If a serious health condition will last a year or more, read our guide to how Social Security decides disability. If your income will drop during leave, check whether your household qualifies for SNAP.

7What about pregnancy?

Prenatal appointments and time unable to work because of pregnancy count as FMLA leave, before the weeks for bonding with the baby begin. Separately, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act requires employers with 15 or more employees to make reasonable accommodations for pregnancy-related limitations, such as more breaks, a stool or temporary changes in duties, which can reduce the leave you need. That law covers workers too new to qualify for FMLA.

8What if 12 weeks is not enough?

If you still cannot return when your FMLA leave runs out, the Americans with Disabilities Act may require an employer with 15 or more employees to consider additional unpaid leave or another accommodation for a disability. Ask in writing before your FMLA leave ends, and include what your doctor expects.

9What if your employer says no, or punishes you?

Employers may not interfere with your FMLA rights, deny leave you are entitled to, or retaliate against you for using it, such as by firing or demoting you or counting the leave against you under an attendance policy. You can file a complaint with the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division, generally within two years, or three years for a willful violation, or sue the employer in court. Our guide to unpaid wages and wage complaints explains how the Wage and Hour Division handles complaints. If you lose your job, see our unemployment guide.

10Federal law, and what it leaves to others

This guide covers the federal law. State laws, union contracts and employer policies can give more leave, cover more relatives or provide pay. It is a general summary, not legal advice; the Department of Labor's fact sheets and your employer's leave policy set out the details.