- Congress amended the FMLA in 2008 to create leave rights for those serving in the military. The FMLA allows eligible employees to take up to 26 weeks during 12 months to care for a covered service member with a serious injury or illness. A covered service member is defined as "a current member of the Armed Forces, the National Guard, or Reserves, who is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy; is otherwise in outpatient status; or is otherwise on the temporary disability retired list, for serious injury or illness."
- Congress also passed an amendment that allows employees to take 12 weeks of leave for a qualifying exigency relating to a covered military member's active duty. A covered military member is defined as an employee's spouse, child or parent who serves in the National Guard or Reserves and is on active duty or call to active duty status. The seven types of qualified exigencies include: short-notice deployment; military events and related activities; child care and school activities; financial and legal arrangements; counseling; rest and recuperation; and post-deployment activities.
- The FMLA does not apply to all employers. Regulated employers include private employers with 50 or more employees, the federal government, state and local governments and public and private elementary and secondary schools.
- To be eligible to take covered leave, workers must meet certain criteria as well. Employees must have worked for a regulated employer for at least 12 months, and they must have worked at least 1,250 hours for the employer in the previous 12 months. They must have worked at a location with 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius.
- The employee must request FMLA leave as soon as possible for an unforseeable event. For a forseeable event, such as birth, the employee is required to give the employer a 30-day notice. If the employee does not provide appropriate notice, the employer can delay leave.
