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November 2009 Winchester Area Society for Human Resources Management
Legislative Update - Penny H. Mathias, SPHR
Yesterday, President Obama signed into law the Fiscal Year 2010 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 2647). The new law includes an expansion of the recently-enacted exigency and caregiver leave provisions for military families under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA).
In January 2008, Congress amended the FMLA to provide:
- Exigency leave - up to 12 weeks of leave for urgent needs related to a reservist family member’s (spouse, son, daughter, or parent) call to active service.
- H.R. 2647 expands the exigency leave benefits to include family members of active duty service members. Under current law, only family members of National Guard and Reservists are eligible for “exigency leave.
- Caregiver leave - up to 26 weeks of unpaid leave to an employee to care for a family member (spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin) who is injured while serving on active military duty.
- H.R. 2647 expands the caregiver leave provision to include veterans who are undergoing medical treatment, recuperation or therapy for serious injury or illness that occurred any time during the five years preceding the date of treatment.
These previsions are effective upon enactment.
In addition to providing leave for military families, the FMLA provides unpaid leave for the birth, adoption or foster care placement of an employee’s child, as well as for the “serious health condition” of a spouse, son, daughter, or parent, or for the employee’s own medical condition. To be eligible for the leave, employees must work in organizations of 50 or more employees and work at least 1,250 hours in a 12-month period
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