On October 28, 2009, the President signed the National Defense Authorization Act of 2010 into law. Under the provisions in Section 565 of that legislation, the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is expanded to more individuals by providing more reasons for protected leave.
Highlights of these changes include:
- "Serious injury or illness," for purposes of caregiver leave (26 weeks), includes aggravation of existing or preexisting injuries/illnesses incurred in the line of military duty, which is currently not included for caregiver leave.
- "Covered servicemember" for purposes of servicemember care leave (26 weeks), includes veterans who are undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy for an illness or injury that manifested itself before or after the servicemember became a veteran. Currently, caregiver leave is available only to care for current members of the Armed Forces, Guard, or Reserves.
- "Active duty," for purposes of qualifying exigency leave (12 weeks), is now replaced with "covered active duty," which includes duty with regular Armed Forces deployed to a foreign country, instead of being restricted to those engaged in a "contingency operation."
The bottom line is that, with these changes, employees will have more qualifying reasons to take leave.
J. J. Keller's FMLA Revealed: Understanding Leave Requirements manual uses clear, conversational language to help you understand the FMLA requirements. It helps HR pros understand and comply with the requirements, control costs related to leave taken, and minimize the law's potential disruption to their organizations' operations.
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