What You Should Know About Your FMLA Benefits

What You Should Know About Your FMLA Benefits

FMLA Benefits apply to companies with 50 employees or more, all public agencies, and all public and private elementary and secondary schools. To be eligible for these benefits you must have been at your job for at least 12 months and worked at least 1,250 hours over the past 12 months. If your employer has fewer than 50 employees within 75 miles of where you work, you are out of luck. The law does not apply to you. The rules for military families were updated in 2009.

These benefits help families in case of emergencies and when they need some time to help balance work and family obligations. FMLA benefits allow an employee to take an unpaid leave of absence from their job while maintaining their medical benefits. This does not mean you can take your family on a trip around the world and expect your job to be waiting for you. It won't be unless you are irreplaceable. It does mean if you have a child you can take almost 3 months to bond with that child and nurture them until you are both ready to deal with the stress of separation while you go back to work. This unpaid leave benefit extends to mothers and fathers of newborns and newly adopted or newly placed foster children.

You may also take FMLA benefits if you suffer from a serious medical condition which makes it impossible for you to work of if you have to care for a sick spouse, child or parent. Not all employers are happy about being forced to provide these benefits. For some companies it becomes very difficult to find short term replacements for highly specialized workers. Don't expect to find your same job waiting for you. The law does not demand that.

Not all such leaves run smoothly. You may encounter problems when you try to return to work after taking advantage of your FMLA benefits and not be happy with your new placement. If you know an unpaid leave is in your future because you are expecting a child, work with your employer before the time arrives. Work out the details of how your absence will be dealt with and how your return will be handled. If you value your job, don't just go off to the hospital and then call your employer saying, "I won't be in to work for the next 12 weeks."

If you did everything you could to make the transition smooth or the absence is due to an unforeseen emergency, you can find help from attorneys handling employment law. An online resource you may want to consider is the site Undercover Lawyer where you will find help addressing the needs of the employee rather than the employer. Many attorneys specializing in employment law are used to representing companies since it is the large corporations that deal with these issues on a regular basis. That website looks at FMLA benefits and other employee issues from your point of view.

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