What Constitutes Family Leave?
Family leave is a misunderstood term because the meaning of the term can vary depending on whether you are discussing state law, federal law, or in-house employer policies and procedures. Moreover, the state and federal laws addressing family leave are less than crystal clear. Generally, though, family leave means unpaid time off from work in order to care for personal serious health conditions or serious health conditions of spouses and immediate family members.
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Employer Policies
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Employers of all sizes, and in any state, generally have the right to enact their own in-house policies regarding family leave. So long as those policies do not conflict with state or federal laws regarding family leave, those policies are enforceable. Generally, this means that employer policies can provide family leave benefits that supplement state and federal rights, but the policies cannot limit or interfere with state and federal rights. In that sense, family leave under an employer policy may mean more than it means under state and federal law, but it certainly won't mean less.
State Laws
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Each state is generally free to enact its own statutes defining family leave and employee rights to family leave, but like employer policies, the state law cannot infringe on or limit federal rights to family leave. Not all states define or regulate family leave, but the majority do. Like under federal law, family leave under state law is always unpaid and is generally only for serious health conditions.
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FMLA
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The relevant federal law is the Family and Medical Leave Act, or FMLA for short. The FMLA provides the basic ground rules for family leave, at least for employees working for a covered employee. Generally, employers with fewer than 50 employees are not covered by the FMLA. Family leave rights under the FMLA extend to the employee, as well as the employee's parents, spouse, and children (biological and adopted). Family leave rights do not extend to siblings, in-laws, or other non-immediate family members.
Serious Health Condition
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Family leave is available under the FMLA, and most state laws, only for serious health conditions. The FMLA provides a fairly flexible, and therefore vague, definition of a serious health condition, so it is not always a black-and-white determination. A serious health condition always includes the birth or adoption of a family member, and it typically includes any medical situation that requires either an overnight stay in the hospital or continuous treatment and care over an extended period of time. Generally, the FMLA applies to any medical condition that is more than a typical cold, flu or other minor illness. Under the FMLA, employees can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year in order to care for their own serious health condition or the serious health condition of a covered family member or spouse.
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References
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