In CAI’s Monday member newsletter, Advice and Counsel Team Member John Gupton shared new regulations published by the US Department of Labor (DOL). The DOL issued a final rule implementing two important expansions of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA):
- Provides families of eligible veterans with the same job-protected FMLA leave currently available to families of military service members, and it enables more military families to take leave for activities that arise when a service member is deployed.
- Modifies existing rules so that airline personnel and flight crews are better able to make use of FMLA’s protections.
The new FMLA rule implemented Congressional amendments to the FMLA permitting eligible workers to take up to 26 workweeks of leave to care for a current service member with a serious injury or illness. Congress also created qualifying exigency leave, which permits eligible employees to take up to 12 workweeks of leave for qualifying exigencies arising out of active duty or call to active duty in support of a contingency operation of a family member serving in the National Guard or Reserve. The final rule also includes amendments clarifying the application of the FMLA to airline personnel and flight crews. Until the amendments, many flight crews did not meet FMLA eligibility criteria due to the unique way in which their hours are counted.
In addition to the newest regulations, the DOL released a new FMLA poster. Employers covered by the FMLA must put up the poster no later than March 8, 2013. At CAI, we are in the process of revising our combined Federal poster for members. However, the updated poster will not be available for distribution to our members before the March 8, 2013 posting deadline.
For more information, including the new rule, a military leave guide, fact sheets and other materials, visit http://j.mp/13-fm. You can also call CAI’s Advice and Counsel Team at 919-878-9222 or 336-668-7746 to go over the FMLA updates.