Benefit Trends and Legislative Updates

New Family and Medical Leave Regulations - (01/09)

As you may recall, Congress enacted the Family and Medical Leave Act in 1993. The Department of Labor (DOL) issued its only set of FMLA regulations in 1995. Since that time, federal courts have interpreted the FMLA (sometimes inconsistently) and the U.S. Supreme Court actually invalidated portions of the current regulations. So now, the DOL has issued new Final Regulations (New Regulations) which are more comprehensive than the 1995 regulations. Many of the enhancements respond to court decisions; others are a result of comments made during what became a two year comment period (2006-2008). Since the New Regulations are very detailed and require serious study, we have limited this BenAlert to a discussion of the key changes.

» Read Full Update PDF FILE

Effective Date

The New Regulations take effect as of January 16, 2009.

Background - The Basic FMLA Rules as Originally Enacted in 1993:

  • Covered Employer - Employers who employ 50 or more employees for each working day during each of 20 or more calendar work weeks in the current or preceding year.
  • Eligible Employee - An employee who has been employed by the employer for at least 12 months; has worked at least 1,250 hours during the 12 month period immediately preceding the start of the leave; and, works at a worksite where 50 or more employees are employed by the employer within a 75 mile radius.
  • Entitlement Prior to the Amendment - Under the original FMLA law, an eligible employee is entitled to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for any of the following: (1) the employee's own serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the functions of the employee's position; (b) the birth of the employee's child, to care for the employee's own newborn child, or for placement of a child with the employee for foster care or adoption; or (c) to care for the employee's spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition.
  • California Family Rights Act - Current California law (CFRA) provides the identical benefits to employees who meet the FMLA eligibility requirements applicable to most employers not subject to FMLA. The CFRA applies to employers who do business in California with 50 or more employees (full time and part time) working anywhere within the United Sates or its possessions, including non-profit religious organizations. It also applies to the State of California and any of its political subdivisions, cities, and counties regardless of the number of employees. For details on the CFRA, please refer to http://www.dfeh.ca.gov/about/cfraDescription.aspx.

At present, the California Legislature has taken no action to amend the CFRA to incorporate the federal Amendment. However, effective January 1, 2008, California now provides new military leave up to 10 days at the time an active duty member of the Armed Forces is on military leave (AB 392). This new California legislation applies to employers with 25 or more employees. For details of this legislation, please refer to our Legislative Update 2008-3, first published on January 27, 2008. (From Legislative Update 2008-5, FMLA Benefit Expansion: Action Required)

» Read Full Update PDF FILE

New Family and Medical Leave Regulation Forms