New FMLA Regulations: Employers need to know!

On February 5, 2013, twenty years to the day after the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was signed into law, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a revised Final Rule implementing recent expansions to the FMLA, effective March 8, 2013. This Final Rule expanded FMLA protection for military families, airline personnel and flight crews, and also requires covered employers to update their FMLA posters and policies. In addition, the Final Rule also implements clarifying changes for the calculation of intermittent and reduced schedule leave.

If your business has employees who have military personnel in their families, the Final Rule implements the following changes regarding Military Leave: 

• Extends the availability of FMLA leave to family members of members of the National Guard, Reserves, and the Regular Armed Forces for qualifying exigencies arising out of the servicemembers’ deployment
• Adds a qualified exigency leave category for parental care leave, allowing an employee to take leave to care for a military member’s parent who is incapable of self-care when the care is needed due to the servicemember’s covered active duty
• Increases the amount of time an eligible family member can take for Rest and Recuperation from five days to a maximum of 15 calendar days to spend with a military member on rest and recuperation leave orders
• Extends FMLA military caregiver leave for family members of current servicemembers to include an injury or illness that existed prior to service and was aggravated in the line of duty
• Extends FMLA military caregiver leave to family members of certain veterans with serious injuries or illnesses
• Provides that periods of absence from work by qualifying military members which are due to USERRA-covered service is counted in determining an employee’s eligibility for FMLA leave

The Final rule clarifies how Covered Employers calculate intermittent and "Reduced Schedule" Leave:

• Clarifies that an employer may not require an employee to take more leave than necessary
• Clarifies that FMLA leave may only be counted against an employee’s FMLA entitlement for leave actually taken and not for time that is worked
• Clarifies that an employer must track FMLA leave using smallest increment of time used for other forms of leave with a one hour maximum
• Clarifies that the physical impossibility exception is to be applied only in the most limited circumstances, and the employer has the responsibility to restore the employee to the same or equivalent position as soon as possible 

The Final Rule contemplates that all employers must post revised FMLA posters to reflect these new regulations, effective March 8, 2013. The updated poster can be found here.  Its also a good idea to update  your FMLA forms.  Our firm can certainly assist here, but you can see the DOL's suggested form updates here. We can also help Employers revise their policies and procedures to help comply with the updated FMLA regulations. 
 

The DOL also offers a most helpful side-by-side comparison chart to help Employers understand the changes in the Final Rule here.