Employee Rights Regarding Personal Leave
Employers are not required by law to issue employees personal leave time. However, employees do have the right, depending on their job, to take time off from work due to sickness, or to care for a family member or newborn child. If an employer does offer personal leave, he must do so on a fair and equal basis. Some professions that do offer personal leave, like teaching, mandate that only a certain amount of days per year can be covered as personal leave.
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Purpose
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An employer may offer personal leave time or not. The purpose of personal leave is to take time off of work in order to deal with a personal issue. Personal leave is different from sick leave or vacation leave. If an employee has earned personal leave time from their employer, they do not need to disclose why they are taking time off, unlike sick days, which may require evidence from a physician. Employee personal leave time is not a federal requirement, and often times it is left up to the employer to create the guidelines.
Legal
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Employees are not automatically issued personal leave time, and those who do receive this benefit from their employer have no legal right to be paid while on leave. Personal leave guidelines are usually established between the employee and the employer. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not require employers to grant employees personal leave; however, some employees may take time off for personal reasons under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
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Teachers
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Some teachers may be granted personal leave, but only if they work for a certain amount of time. Teachers in certain states are eligible for personal leave days if they work for a certain amount of time. In Alabama, for example, a teacher must work as least 20 hours a week on average to become eligible for personal leave. Teachers in Alabama and Texas can receive up to five personal leave days a year, two of which must be paid, and are not required to explain why they are taking a personal leave.
FMLA
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Employees may take a personal leave to care for a newborn. One type of personal leave is covered by the FMLA, which allows an employee, if they have qualified for this benefit, to take personal time off to care for a sick family member. The Family Medical Leave Act also covers personal leave to take care of a newborn child, or a child that has just been adopted. Employers have the right to ask for medical proof that the family member does indeed need your assistance.
Fairness
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An employer who offers personal leave to his employees must do so equally within the workplace. United States law states that, if an employer agrees to grant personal leave time to her employees, she must grant it to all employees on an equal and fair basis. Employees, such as teachers, who do earn personal leave often times earn it on a "use it or lose it" basis. In short, if your employer offers you a set amount of personal days off per year, they do not roll over into the next year if they remain unused.
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References
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