In 1993, Congress passed the Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA") to "balance the demands of the workplace with the needs of families." When the FMLA was enacted, it supplemented approximately 30 state statutes that provided some form of family and medical leave to employees who worked in those states. Although the FMLA and state family and medical leave laws are generally similar with regard to the availability of leave, they differ both in terms of coverage and scope. Forty-five states and the District of Columbia now appear to have family and medical leave laws. Code. Law.
In 1993, Congress passed the Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA") to "balance the demands of the workplace with the needs of families." When the FMLA was enacted, it supplemented approximately 30 state statutes that provided some form of family and medical leave to employees who worked in those states. Although the FMLA and state family and medical leave laws are generally similar with regard to the availability of leave, they differ both in terms of coverage and scope. This report includes summaries of the family and medical leave laws of forty-five states and the District of Columbia. Laws pertaining to family and medical leave and maternity leave were not found in the codes of all 50 states. Summaries of the relevant leave statutes and regulations are organized in alphabetical order.