When employers have to create leave policies, it can be challenging. Employees may need to take leave from work for many different reasons and employers need to consider these when making their policies.
What can make the situation more complex is that paid and unpaid leave laws can vary considerably from state to state and even federal law may only apply to companies of a certain size. Here are some leave laws employers need to know.
1. Family Medical Leave
The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows eligible employees working for private companies with 50 or more employees to take up to twelve weeks of job-protected unpaid leave during a twelve-month period for qualifying family and medical reasons. For example, an employee can take leave when suffering from an illness or to care for a child with a serious health condition.
Several states have their own family and medical leave laws, some of which apply to smaller employees, provide benefits to employees not eligible for FMLA leave or provide more leave and benefits than those provided by the FMLA.
Employers are mostly understanding in such circumstances but if they attempt to interfere with leave or retaliate, lawyers at the Lacy Employment Labor Law firm can help employees to deal with these FMLA violations. Find more details here on the website.
2. Pregnancy disability leave
Several states have laws that require employers to provide job-protected leave for pregnant employees. This includes employees who need time off for problems related to pregnancy and/or childbirth. In California, pregnancy disability leave is broadly available to employees if two requirements are met.
The employee must be disabled by pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition and the employer must be covered by California’s pregnancy disability leave law which applies to businesses with five or more employees.
Pennsylvania allows women to use short-term disability after the baby is born. Coverage is only available after childbirth and not before.
3. Military leave
The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) is the main federal law governing leave for employees who are military service members. Employers must give leave to employees to serve in the military and re-employ those who have taken military leave. Many states also have military leave provisions that may require additional obligations from employers.
4. Unpaid leave for disabled employees
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to private employers with 15 or more employees. This act requires employers to make ‘reasonable accommodations’ for qualified, disabled employees. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) states that an unpaid leave is a form of reasonable accommodation an employer should consider.
This federal agency does not have the force of law but the courts often view its guidance as persuasive. How long an employer should allow an employee to go on unpaid leave is usually applied on a case-by-case basis.
5. Paid sick Leave
Currently, there are no federal requirements for paid sick leave. However, a number of states across the U.S. have paid sick leave legislation. States such as California, Connecticut, Oregon, and Massachusetts have paid sick days.
For example, Connecticut requires employers with 50 or more employees to give one hour of paid sick leave for every forty hours worked. California requires all employers to give one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked.
Pennsylvania has only recently passed an ordinance that will require some employers to give paid sick leave to workers. This ordinance means eligible employees working in Allegheny County will earn one hour of paid sick time per 35 hours worked.