To assist in employer and employee compliance, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) has issued several revised Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) Fact Sheets, including Fact Sheet 28D: Employer Notification Requirements under the Family and Medical Leave Act (“Fact Sheet 28D”).
Background. The FMLA entitles eligible employees to take up to 12 weeks’ unpaid leave: (i) for one’s own serious health condition; (ii) to care for a seriously ill or injured spouse or dependent; (iii) for the birth, adoption or placement of a child; or (iv) to deal with “exigencies” related to their spouse’s military deployment. It also provides employees with up to 26 weeks’ unpaid leave to care for a spouse who has a military service-related illness or injury.
DOL’s Fact Sheet 28D. Fact Sheet 28D explains that the following notices are required:
- FMLA Poster and General Notice. All covered employers must display a FMLA poster. The employer must also provide each eligible employee with a general notice containing the same information about the FMLA as contained in the poster.
- Eligibility Notice. When an employee requests leave for a reason that may qualify as FMLA leave, the employer must notify the employee whether he or she is eligible for FMLA leave.
- Rights and Responsibilities Notice. If the employee is eligible for FMLA leave, the employer must notify the employee in writing about employee rights and responsibilities under the FMLA.
- Designation Notice. Once the employer has enough information to know whether a leave request qualifies as FMLA leave, the employer must notify the employee in writing whether the employee’s time off from work will be designated FMLA leave, and the amount of time that will count against the employee’s FMLA leave entitlement.
Where a significant portion of the employer’s workforce is not literate in English, employers are required to provide certain notices in languages other than English. Sample English and Spanish language FMLA posters are available from the DOL. Employers may distribute the information electronically, create their own poster or notice, or use another format.
Failure to provide required FMLA notices may constitute an interference with, restraint on, or denial of the exercise of an employee’s FMLA rights.
Additional FMLA Fact Sheets Updated. DOL has also updated the following Fact Sheets:
- Fact Sheet 28E: Employee Notice Requirements Under the Family and Medical Leave Act;
- Fact Sheet 28H: 12-Month Period Under the Family and Medical Leave Act;
- Fact Sheet 28I: Counting Leave Use under the Family and Medical Leave Act; and
- Fact Sheet 28L: Leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act for Spouses Working for the Same Employer.
The Fact Sheets are available at: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets