what is the family and medical leave act fmla 
the family and medical leave act fmla is a labor law requiring employers of a certain size to provide employees with unpaid time off for serious family health issues or situations qualified reasons may include adoption pregnancy foster care placement family or personal illness or military leave it also provides for the continuation of insurance coverage and job protection while the employee is on leave the fmla is intended to provide families with the time and resources to deal with family emergencies while also guiding employers the u s department of labor s wage and hour division dol whd is in charge of the fmla program understanding the family and medical leave act fmla the fmla was signed into law on feb 5 1993 by president bill clinton 2 its passage was an acknowledgment by the federal government of changes in u s families the workplace and the labor force for example the proliferation of single parent households or households in which both parents work and the expectations of both employees and employers the law guarantees that a qualified employee may take up to 12 weeks off for reasons such as pregnancy childbirth adoption personal illness or the illness of a family member the types of qualified medical and family situations also include foster care or military leave for instance if the eligible employee is a service member s spouse son daughter parent or next of kin military caregiver leave they are entitled to 26 weeks of leave 3the fmla mandated time off is an unpaid leave furthermore an employee who takes unpaid leave that falls under the fmla is job protected that is the employee can return to the same position held before the leave began if the same position is unavailable the employer must provide a position that is substantially equal in pay benefits and responsibility 4the purpose of the family and medical leave act fmla the fmla seeks to remove the need for workers to choose between their jobs and their families enabling them to balance employment security and caring for their children parents or other members of their extended family it impacts women in particular by recognizing the outsized roles they play in caregiving and the fact that their familial role as default caregiver has a significant effect on their working lives and careers for instance it allows them to take a leave to care for a newborn or an adopted child with the assurance that they can return to their job afterward but it also acknowledges the importance of men in serving a role in their families beyond that of the breadwinner the fmla s intentions are indicated in the stated intentions of the bill itself in 2020 the families first coronavirus response act ffcra expanded the fmla s provisions to include leaves for covid 19 related purposes the american rescue plan act arpa expanded that program and extended it to sept 30 2021 6special considerationsnot every employee is covered by the family and medical leave act companies have to be of a certain size and the worker has to have met certain conditions specifically to qualify for time off under the fmla a worker 