President Obama Signs Law Expanding FMLA Military Leave
By Geoffrey F. Gega, Esq.
On October 28, 2009, President Obama signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010, which expands military leaves available under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).This provision expands makes the following key amendments to the FMLA:
1. Exigency leave is available to family members of those in the regular Armed Forces as well as those in the National Guard or Reserves. This type of leave allows family members to take some time off to handle important matters relating to a child, spouse, or parent's impending call to active duty military service. Family members of military personnel who are on active duty would also have the right to take qualifying exigency leave.
2. Eligible employees will be able to take military caregiver leave for veterans who served in the regular Armed Forces, the Reserves within 5 years of the date the veterans undergoes medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy. This differs from current law in that military caregiver leave is now only available to care for current members of the Armed Forces, Guard, or Reserves.
3. Military caregiver leave is expanded to cover aggravation of existing or preexisting injuries incurred in the line of duty while on active duty. Currently, DOL regulations exclude aggravation of existing injuries incurred in the line of duty while on active duty as a basis for taking military caregiver leave. When the serious injury or illness rises to the level of a subsequent injury or illness an employee will be entitled to take military caregiver leave for the same covered service member.
4. Currently, qualifying exigency leave is only available for covered military members in the Reserves or Guard.Qualifying exigency leave is expanded to cover members of the regular Armed Forces who are deployed to a foreign country
The Department of Labor is formulating regulations to carry out the amendments. Although the new law did not specifically provide for an effective date, based upon a reading of the language, it should be presumed that the amendments are effective immediately especially since the new amendments do affect an employer’s application of the current FMLA regulations. For more information on this topic, please contact Cook Brown, LLP.