T he Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA; P.L. 103-3 , as amended) entitles eligible employ ees to unpaid, job-protected leave for certain family and medical needs, with continuation of group health plan benefits. An Overview of the Family and Medical Leave Act

The FMLA requires that covered employers grant up to 12 workweeks of leave in a 12-month period to eligible employees for one or more of the following reasons:
the birth and care of the employee's newborn child, provided that leave is taken within 12 months of the child's birth; the placement of an adopted or fostered child with the employee, provided that leave is taken within 12 months of the child's placement; to care for a spouse, child (generally a minor child), or parent with a serious health condition; the employee's own serious health condition that renders the employee unable to perform the essential functions of his or her job; and qualified military exigencies if the employee's spouse, child, or parent is a covered military member on covered active duty. Proposals in the 114th Congress to Amend FMLA

Several bills were introduced in the 114 th Congress to amend the FMLA. H.R. H.R. New Qualifying Uses of Leave

Bills introduced in the 114 th Congress would have allowed employees to use the existing FMLA leave entitlement for bereavement, needs related to domestic violence experienced by the employee or a close family member, family involvement, and medical needs related to certain service-connected disabilities for veterans. Bereavement

The following proposals would have permitted eligible employees to use the existing FMLA leave entitlement for the death of a close family member (or members): 
S. 1302 / H.R. Proposals to Broaden Current FMLA-Qualifying Uses of Leave

Several proposals sought to expand employees' options for using the current set of FMLA-qualifying uses of leave by either (1) expanding the set of relationships for which an employee may use family leave or (2) amending definitions related to the current entitlement. H.R. Because the bill would have amended the FMLA definition of son or daughter to include adult children, leave would also be permitted for the placement of an adult child. H.R. H.R. H.R. H.R. H.R. H.R. As noted elsewhere in this report, S. 473 , H.R. 5519 , and H.R. S. 473 and H.R. S. 2584 and H.R. 5518 , which would have reduce d the minimum number of employees (of the same employer) within 75 miles of an employee's worksite from 50 employees to 15 employees ; and 2. H.R. 5496 , which proposed to amend the general hours - of - service requirement to remove reference to " 1,250 hours of service ... during the previous 12-month period" , and include part-time and full-time employees as "eligible employees . " Eligibility Requirements for Specific Worker Groups

Two bills proposed new eligibility requirements for certain veterans with service-connected disabilities and for education support professionals. 5165 proposed to provide a new FMLA-qualifying use of leave for veterans with a service-connected disability rated at 30% or higher. Education Support Professionals

S. 3444 would have created a separate hours-of-service requirement for educational support professionals (ESP).
The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA; P.L. 103-3, as amended) entitles eligible employees to unpaid, job-protected leave for certain family and medical needs, with continuation of group health plan benefits.
Through the act, Congress sought to strike a balance between workplace responsibilities and workers' growing need to take leave for significant family and medical events. Subsequently, Congress added new categories of leave that allow eligible employees to address certain military exigencies stemming from the deployment of a close family member to a foreign country and to care for a servicemember with a serious injury or illness who is a close family member. The act has also been amended to expand access to certain legislative branch employees and to clarify eligibility criteria for airline flight crew. FMLA was last amended in 2009.
FMLA remains an issue of interest for Members, and the 114th Congress considered several proposals to amend the act in various ways:
Additional leave entitlements. Two bills would have created a new entitlement to take leave for certain family members' school or community activities (H.R. 5535, H.R. 5518) and for the employee's own routine medical needs or that of certain family members (H.R. 5518 only). New FMLA-qualifying uses of the existing leave entitlement. Several proposals aimed to allow employees to use the existing entitlement for new categories of leave, including bereavement (S. 1302/H.R. 2260, S. 473), domestic violence and its effects (S. 473), family involvement (S. 473; in addition to new leave entitlements in H.R. 5535, H.R. 5518), and medical leave for veterans with service-connected disabilities rated at 30% or higher (H.R. 5165). Broader application of existing FMLA-qualifying uses of leave. Five bills proposed to expand employee's options for using the current set of FMLA-qualifying uses of leave by either broadening the set of relationships for which an employee may use family leave (S. 473, H.R. 5519, H.R. 5701) or amending definitions referenced in the descriptions of the current entitlement (S. 473, H.R. 5519, and H.R. 5701 sought to amend the definition of son or daughter to include adult children; and S. 2584/H.R. 4616 proposed amending the definition of serious health condition to reference the recovery from organ donation surgery as a possible condition). Less-restrictive eligibility requirements, generally, and separate requirements for certain worker groups. For general eligibility, H.R. 5518 aimed to reduce the minimum number of employees required within 75 miles of an employee's worksite from 50 employees to 15 employees and H.R. 5496 sought to amend the general hours-of-service requirement to remove the minimum of "1,250 hours of service ... during the previous 12-month period" and allow eligible workers to be "part-time or full-time" employees. H.R. 5165 would have provided new eligibility requirements for certain veterans that allowed them to use FMLA leave for medical treatment related to a service-connected disability rated at 30% or higher sooner than the standard 12-month employment requirement. S. 3444 would have created a separate hours-of-service requirement for educational support professionals.