C ongress passed the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) in 1993 in part to "balance the demands of the workplace with the needs of families." To that end, the act provides eligible employees of covered employers with entitlement to specified amounts of unpaid leave per 12-month period. This report first provides background on leave eligibility, notice requirements, and enforcement under the FMLA. Then the report discusses the U.S. Supreme Court cases that have considered and clarified some provisions of the FMLA. In Nevada Department of Human Resources v. Hibbs and Coleman v. Court of Appeals of Maryland , the Supreme Court considered the constitutionality of lawsuits against state entities under the FMLA. In Coleman , the Court utilized the same analysis that it earlier relied upon when considering an FMLA suit against a state entity in Hibb s . The Court first observed that Congress expressly authorized suits against state entities for interfering with an employee's rights under the FMLA's self-care provision, just as it did in Hibbs with regard to suits for interference with an employee's right to take leave to care for a spouse, son, daughter, or parent with a serious health condition.
Congress passed the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) in 1993 in part to "balance the demands of the workplace with the needs of families." To that end, the FMLA entitles eligible employees of covered employers to set amounts of unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons. These reasons include, for example, the care of a spouse, son, daughter, or parent with a serious health condition, and the care of a newborn or newly adopted child. Employers who interfere with an employee's exercise of FMLA rights or retaliate against an employee for exercising her FMLA rights may face liability. This report first provides background on leave eligibility, notice requirements, and enforcement under the FMLA. Then the report discusses the U.S. Supreme Court cases—Ragsdale v. Wolverine World Wide, Inc., Nevada Department of Human Resources v. Hibbs, and Coleman v. Court of Appeals of Maryland—that have considered and clarified some provisions of the FMLA.