Qualifying Reasons for FML
Under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), you may take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave:
- For the birth and care of your newborn child;
- For the placement and care of a child following adoption or foster care assignment;
- If you have a serious health condition;
- If you need to care for your spouse, child, or parent who has a serious health condition;
- If you have a “qualifying exigency,” because your spouse, child, or parent is a military member on covered active duty.
You may qualify for up to 26 weeks of unpaid leave if your spouse, child, or parent is a covered service member with a serious injury or illness, and you need to provide care.
FML may involve continuous leave, intermittent leave, or a reduced work schedule.
FML is restricted to yourself, parents, children, or spouses and applies only to serious illnesses, including some chronic health conditions that may cause episodic rather than foreseeable illnesses. Routine illnesses like the common cold or flu, earaches, upset stomach, minor ulcers, and headaches other than migraine are not serious health conditions for purposes of FML.
Eligibility
All university employees are eligible if they meet these criteria:
- Have been employed by the university for at least 12* months; and
- Have worked at least 1,250 hours (paid and unpaid absences or leaves do not count. Only the hours you actually worked are counted.) during the 12-month period immediately preceding the start of the FML; and
- Have not used their full FML allotment in the previous 12 months.
*The 12 months do not need to be consecutive. Prior employment periods separated by a break in service of less than 7 years will be considered. However, if your break in service was due to National Guard or Reserve military service obligations, your military service does not count as a break in employment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Leave for Childbirth or Adoption
Yes. Pregnancy is considered to be a serious health condition, so you may take FML for any period you are unable to work due to pregnancy, or the need for prenatal care, Your spouse may also take FML.
Yes, if an absence from work is required for the placement to proceed, including for legal proceedings, counseling, or travel to complete the adoption or foster care.
No, since you are both employees of the same employer, you can only take a total of 12 weeks of FML. However, if both you and your spouse qualify for paid parental leave, you may each take six weeks of paid leave to bond with your baby.
Military Leave Entitlement
Yes, if you are eligible for FML, you may take up to 26 work weeks of job-protected FML during a single 12-month period in order to care for a covered service member who was injured on military active duty.
Yes, your loss of childcare is a qualifying exigency arising from the fact that your spouse is on active duty (or has been notified of an impending call to duty). FML may also be used for qualifying exigencies arising from your child or parent serving in the military.
Examples of qualifying exigencies include:
- attending military events;
- arranging or providing for alternative childcare or school for the minor child of a covered military member;
- addressing financial or legal arrangements;
- attending counseling sessions, and
- making funeral arrangements or addressing issues arising from a service member's death on active duty.
You may also use FML for a covered service member
- for 7 calendar days before the date of a short-notice deployment;
- for up to 5 calendar days each time the service member is on a short-term, temporary rest and recuperation leave during the period of deployment; or
- for attending ceremonies or other official post-deployment programs sponsored by the military that occur within 90 calendar days following the termination of the service member’s period of active duty.
For purposes of the military family leave entitlement, the leave year begins on the first day you take FML to care for the covered service member and ends 12 months after that date. You may not take more than 26 work weeks of FML within a single 12-month period. If the reason for requesting FML qualifies for both the military family leave entitlement and the basic leave entitlement, the leave is credited to military family leave, and you cannot take more than 26 work weeks during the leave year.
If there are separate reasons for the use of the military family leave entitlement and the basic leave entitlement, the eligible employee is limited to a combined total of 26 work weeks during the single 12-month period provided that no more than 12 weeks of FMLA leave is for the basic leave qualifying reason.
You may each use your available balance of the military family leave entitlement. However you and your spouse are limited to a combined total of 26 work weeks during a single 12-month period.