The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) is a federal statute that entitles an eligible employee to take up to 12 workweeks of leave in a 12-month period for the birth or placement of a child, to care for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition, or for the employee's own serious health condition. During the leave the employer must maintain the employee's group health coverage and must restore the employee to the same or an equivalent job on return. The statute states that the leave may be unpaid, so FMLA is a job-protection law rather than an income-replacement one.
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is the federal law giving eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave a year for specified family and medical reasons, with group health coverage continued during the leave.
Last reviewed by Steven Fox, CFP®, EA
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Quick Summary
- FMLA guarantees job protection and continued health coverage, not pay, since the leave can be, and often is, unpaid.
- It covers up to 12 workweeks a year for a new child, a family member's serious health condition, or the employee's own, plus a longer 26-week leave to care for a covered servicemember.
- Eligibility has three parts, and the one people forget is that the employer must have 50 employees within 75 miles of the worksite.
- The employee must also have worked for the employer 12 months and logged at least 1,250 hours in the prior 12 months.
Definition
Advanced Explanation
FMLA covers four situations and adds one longer entitlement for military families. The four are: the birth of a child and bonding within a year; the placement of a child by adoption or foster care and bonding; care for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition; and the employee's own serious health condition that makes them unable to do the job. A separate military caregiver provision allows up to 26 workweeks in a single 12-month period to care for a covered servicemember with a serious injury or illness.
Eligibility is a three-part test, and all three must be met. First, the employer must be covered and the worksite must have at least 50 employees within 75 miles, which is the condition most often overlooked and the reason many small-firm employees have no FMLA rights. Second, the employee must have worked for the employer for at least 12 months. Third, the employee must have worked at least 1,250 hours during the 12 months before the leave, roughly 24 hours a week averaged over the year, which can exclude part-time staff.
Two features shape how FMLA is used. Leave can be taken intermittently or on a reduced schedule where medically necessary, not only in one continuous block, which is how it covers recurring treatment. And while coverage continues, the employee generally still owes their own share of the health premium; an employer may recover the premiums it advanced only in a narrow case, where the employee does not return to work for a reason other than a continuation of the health condition or another circumstance beyond the employee's control. FMLA provides no wages, so many workers pair it with employer paid leave, a state paid-family-leave program, or short-term disability coverage to replace income during the time off.
How to Remember
FMLA locks your job and your health coverage in place for up to 12 weeks; it does not put money in your pocket. Remember the "50 within 75" gate: your worksite needs 50 employees within 75 miles for you to qualify.
Used in a Sentence
“When his mother's cancer treatment required regular hospital trips, Ken used FMLA to take intermittent leave, missing a day here and there without risking his job.”
How It Works
The mechanics: an eligible employee gives notice, the employer designates the time as FMLA leave, the employee takes up to 12 workweeks (continuous or intermittent), health coverage continues, and the employee returns to the same or an equivalent position within the entitlement period.
A hypothetical shows what "job protection, not income" means in dollars. Suppose Ana earns $1,200 a week and takes the full 12 weeks of FMLA leave for her own serious health condition, with no employer paid-leave benefit and no state program. She receives no wages during the leave, a forgone 12 × $1,200 = $14,400. What she keeps is her job, restored on return, and her group health insurance, which the employer must continue as if she were working, though she still owes her usual share of the premium each month. If Ana instead had six weeks of employer-paid leave, those weeks would run concurrently with FMLA and pay 6 × $1,200 = $7,200, cutting her income loss roughly in half while using up half her FMLA entitlement.
Pros and Cons
What FMLA guarantees
- Job restoration to the same or an equivalent position after up to 12 weeks of qualifying leave.
- Continued group health coverage during the leave, so insurance does not lapse.
- Flexibility to take leave intermittently or on a reduced schedule where medically necessary, not just as one block.
- A longer 26-week entitlement for caring for a covered servicemember.
Its limits
- The leave is unpaid; FMLA replaces no income on its own.
- Eligibility excludes many workers: those at small worksites, those with under 12 months of service, and those below 1,250 hours in the prior year.
- It caps at 12 weeks (26 for military caregiver) per 12-month period, which may not cover a long illness.
- The employee generally still owes their own health-premium share during the leave.
People Also Asked
Answers to the most frequently asked questions.
Is FMLA leave paid?
No. The statute says FMLA leave may be unpaid, and by itself it provides no wages. It guarantees that your job and your group health coverage are protected while you are out. To replace income, workers combine FMLA with employer paid leave, a state paid-family-leave program, or short-term disability insurance where available.
Who is eligible for FMLA?
An employee who meets three conditions: the employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles of the worksite; the employee has worked there at least 12 months; and the employee logged at least 1,250 hours in the 12 months before the leave. Missing any one of the three means no FMLA entitlement, even if the reason for leave clearly qualifies.
What reasons qualify for FMLA leave?
Four: the birth of a child and bonding; placement of a child by adoption or foster care and bonding; caring for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition; and the employee's own serious health condition. A separate provision allows up to 26 weeks to care for a covered servicemember with a serious injury or illness.
Can my employer make me pay back health premiums after FMLA?
Only in a narrow case. During leave the employer must keep your health coverage in force, and it can recover the premiums it advanced on your behalf only if you do not return to work, and even then not when the failure to return is due to a continuation of the health condition or another circumstance beyond your control. Your own share of the premium generally remains due during the leave.
Sources
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