Family and Medical Leave Act

The federal Family and Medical Leave Act requires certain employers to give unpaid leave to qualified employees in certain circumstances, and Maryland employers must comply with this requirement. Further, Maryland law also requires employers to permit leave for certain reasons. If you have a question about your rights under these laws, you should consult with an employment law attorney today.

Federal Law

Under FMLA’s requirements, eligible employees can take up to 12 weeks unpaid leave for:

A serious health condition;
The birth of a new child;
The arrival of a child for adoption or foster care;
Caring for an immediate family member with a serious health condition;
Circumstances arising from an immediate family member’s military service; or
Caring for an immediate family member or next-of-kin who sustained a serious injury while on active duty in the military.

Eligibility

In order to be eligible for FMLA leave, the employee must:

Have worked for the employer for at least the past 12 months; and
Have worked at least 1250 hours in the past year.

Additionally, to be required to comply with FMLA, employers must have at least 50 employees.

Time

Each qualifying employee is allotted 12 weeks of FMLA in every 12-month period. However, if an employee is a caregiver for a military family member, he or she may take 26 weeks of leave in every 12-month period.
Generally, employees may not take their FMLA leave intermittently, unless they arrange it with their employers beforehand. Additionally, if an employee takes FMLA leave for the birth or arrival of a new child, he or she must take the leave within one year after the child’s birth or arrival.

Effects of Leave

If an employee takes leave for medical reasons or to take care of a family member, and if the leave is foreseeable and planned in advance, an employer may temporarily transfer the employee to another position for which he or she is qualified, as long as it has the same pay and benefits, and is better suited to taking leave than the current position.

Employees must be permitted to keep their health insurance while on FMLA leave, for the same cost as while they were working. FMLA leave is not paid, but employers may require their employees to use any available paid leave while on FMLA leave. It is important to remember that employers may not penalize employees for taking FMLA leave.

Maryland Law

Maryland law has additional protections for workers. The state’s Parental Leave Act mandates six weeks’ unpaid leave during any 12-month period, for the birth, adoption, or arrival in foster care of a child. Maryland’s statute only requires an employer to have 15 employees to qualify. Employees may be required or may elect to use paid leave during the period of parental leave.

Maryland law also requires employers to give their employees the day off if an immediate family member is leaving for or returning from active duty outside the country. This statute applies if the employer has at least 50 employees, and if the employee has worked for the employer for at least 12 months and has logged at least 1250 hours in the past year.

Consult with an Experienced Maryland Employment Lawyer

If you have any questions about which kinds of leave you may take in Maryland, an experienced attorney can advise you. Please contact the Baltimore employment law attorneys at The Casper Firm for a free initial consultation.