The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is an important law that entitles many employees 12 weeks of unpaid leave for family medical and health reasons. There is a decent amount of confusion surrounding this law and what rights and entitlements it gives to employers and employees. Learn about these common FMLA myths if you’re thinking about taking family medical leave.
“I’ll get my same job back when I come back from my FMLA leave.”
Not necessarily. FMLA allows for employees to take up to 12 weeks (sometimes longer) of unpaid leave from the company, and the employee is ensured that they will be covered by the same group health insurance plan without being penalized. After their 12 weeks of leave, the employee is guaranteed a job, and while it is ideal that the employee will go back to the same job, the employer is only required to place the employee in a position that earns the same pay and benefits as the employee received before they took the leave.
“All Americans are entitled to FMLA leave.”
The FMLA actually has a few key restrictions regarding who can take FMLA leave and it largely depends on who you work for and how long you’ve worked for them. There are three key stipulations. First, you are only entitled to FMLA if you work for any public agency or if you work for a private agency that employees at least 50 people that work within 75 miles of its location. Second, you must have worked for the employer for 12 months before you are eligible to take leave, and you must have worked at least 1250 hours within the last 12 months.
“The employer can’t ask for any medical information.”
While the FMLA doesn’t require employers to get sufficient proof of medical need from the employee, the FMLA does entitle the employee to ask for it. If you plan to take leave, find out from your agency’s HR department whether or not they will require sufficient proof and what sufficient proof means.
“Once I am approved for my FMLA leave, I can take time off any time that I want.”
If you end up leaving work due to a medical condition that required you to seek FMLA leave, and then you take FMLA leave, you are limited to the leave period approved by your HR professional. Typically, if you try to take leave during unapproved periods, you will be restricted by your company’s leave policy. When you fill out an FMLA form, make sure you know that you don’t automatically get 12 week of leave if you only request six. If you get approved for six weeks, you only get to take six weeks without submitted another FMLA form.
