Labor Department Marks 10 Years of Family and Medical
Leave Act Anniversary Serves as Reminder to Know your Rights

WASHINGTON – The law that provides up to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave annually for family and medical reasons was enacted 10 years ago today and is enforced by the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment Standards Administration.

“Over the last 10 years, the Family and Medical Leave Act has provided valuable job protections for millions of workers who have faced serious illnesses, or have required time off to care for their families,” said Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao. “Perhaps now more than ever, when balancing work and home life is increasingly difficult, it is vitally important for employees and employers to understand their rights and obligations under the law.”

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires employers with 50 or more employees to provide job-protected leave for eligible employees to care for a child after birth, adoption or placement for foster care; to care for their spouse, son, daughter or parent who suffers from a serious health condition; or to care for their own serious health condition that prevents them from performing their job.

To be considered eligible, employees must work for an employer who has 50 or more employees within 75 miles of their work site, and must have worked for the employer for 12 months and worked at least 1,250 hours in the 12 months prior to taking FMLA leave.

For the duration of FMLA leave, employers must maintain the employees’ health coverage under group health plans. Most employees must be restored to their original or equivalent positions with equivalent pay, benefits and other employment terms. Furthermore, the use of FMLA leave cannot result in the loss of any employment benefit that accrued prior to the start of a worker’s leave.

“Today’s anniversary is a good reminder that these protections are available for workers, and if they have questions, they should contact the Department of Labor,” Chao said.

The U.S. Labor Department’s Web site includes Frequently Asked Questions about the FMLA http://www.dol.gov/elaws/esa/fmla/faq.asp and an FMLA Compliance Assistance page for employers http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/1421.htm. For further information, you can call the department’s toll-free help line at 1-866-4USWAGE.

Note to TV Producers: On Friday, Feb. 7, the Department of Labor will have a satellite television news feed 1:00p.m.to 1:30p.m. EST on Galaxy 3 Transponder 7 C-Band, downlink frequency 3840 horizontal. The news feed will highlight the Family and Medical Leave Act 10th anniversary with interviews from the Secretary of Labor and the administrator of the Wage and Hour Division. The feed will also contain B-Roll footage related to the FMLA. For technical information on the feed please contact Tom Accardi (202) 693-5040 or Ken Pfeifer (202) 693-5045.

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Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.