US Department of Labor to host free webinar June 27 for workers, employers about Family and Medical Leave Act

Experts will answer questions and clarify protections and eligibility

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division will host a free webinar on June 27 at 2 p.m. EDT to help workers and employers understand the Family and Medical Leave Act. The department also has prepared a 16-page booklet, available online, that explains the FLMA and answers common questions.

"The Family and Medical Leave Act provides America's workers one of the country's most important job protections: the right to take leave for a serious health condition or to care for an immediate family member," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "Unfortunately, too many workers don't know about their rights under the FMLA and fail to take advantage of its protections. This webinar will make the law easier to understand, including recent guidance for nontraditional families."

The webinar will give workers and employers a chance to submit questions that will be answered by an FMLA expert from the department. Workers and employers who wish to participate can register at http://s.dol.gov/T2. Members of the news media planning to cover the webinar should notify Joshua Lamont or Jason Surbey in the Labor Department's Office of Public Affairs using the contact information above.

As part of the department's continuing effort to make the FMLA more accessible, the department has published "Need Time? The Employee's Guide to the Family and Medical Leave Act." The booklet is designed to answer questions such as who can take qualifying leave and what protections the law provides, and is available at http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/employeeguide.htm.

The FMLA currently provides eligible employees of covered employers 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period: for the birth and care of a newborn child of the employee; for the placement with the employee of a son or daughter for adoption or foster care; to care for a spouse, son, daughter or parent with a serious health condition; for a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the essential functions of his or her job; and for qualifying exigencies arising out of the fact that the employee's spouse, son, daughter or parent is a covered military member on "active duty." Up to 26 workweeks of leave may be taken during a single 12-month period to care for a covered service member with a serious injury or illness if the eligible employee is the service member's spouse, son, daughter, parent or next of kin (military caregiver leave).