NEW YORK NURSE: May 2009

RNs at work

Changes to the Family Medical Leave Act

What are the newest provisions for the Family Medical Leave Act?

The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993 is a federal law that allows workers to take up to 12 weeks’ leave during a 12-month period for medical reasons: if they’ve given birth, adopted a child or are caring for a child, spouse, or parent with a serious health condition.

Several changes to the FMLA took effect in January 2009:

Employees will have to follow their employer’s call-in policies when they are planning to miss work, “absent unusual circumstances.” Currently, employees have up to two days after a business absence to notify the company about the need for leave.
To have a “chronic condition” that qualifies for FMLA leave, the law now requires employees to certify that they visited a doctor at least twice a year for the condition.

Another new provision prohibits direct supervisors from getting an employee’s medical information when an FMLA certification is needed, in order to protect the employee’s privacy.

Employers may require fitness-for-duty tests for employees returning from intermittent FMLA leave if doing the job raises a significant risk of harm to themselves or others.
When employers place injured or ill workers on light duty, the time on light duty doesn’t count against the employee’s FMLA leave entitlement.
The regulations provide additional clarification regarding the type and frequency of treatments that employers must receive under the “chronic” and “continuing treatment” definitions of a serious health condition. They also contain more detailed guidance on the substitution of paid leave for FMLA leave and new notice requirements for employers.

For military families, the new regulations clarify how to implement the expanded 26 weeks of unpaid FMLA caregiver leave for relatives of seriously injured or ill service members.

“Next of kin” can now include grandparents, aunts, uncles, first cousins, or any relative designated by the service member. The 26 weeks can be taken over a 12-month period, with the clock starting to run on the first day of the leave.

This military caregiver leave may be taken only once per injury, but more than one family member may qualify for it, and each relative may take leave again if there are other injuries. The leave is available only while the service member remains in the military.

The FMLA also now allows relatives of those who are called to active duty in the National Guard and Reserves — but not regular active-duty military members — to take up to 12 weeks of leave for several qualifying “exigencies,” including:

Short-notice deployment
Military events and related activities
Child care and school activities
Financial and legal arrangements
Counseling
Rest and recuperation
Post-deployment activities
Additional activities

The NYSNA EGW Program receives many inquiries each month from members who have problems in their workplaces. If you have a question about labor relations at your facility, contact your NYSNA nursing representative. If you have a question you think should be featured in this column, send it to: RNs at Work, NYSNA, 120 Wall Street, 23rd Floor, New York, N.Y. 10005.