Back

If your Employer is required to grant you leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and you qualify for such leave, the FMLA allows you to take up to 12 weeks, or 26 weeks if applicable, of unpaid leave during any 12-month period due to:

  • The birth or adoption of a Child or placement of a Child with you for foster care or adoption;
  • The care of a seriously ill spouse, parent, or Child;
  • Your serious illness; or
  • You have an urgent need for leave because your spouse, son, daughter, or parent is on active duty in the armed services in support of a military operation.

In addition, under the FMLA, you may be able to take up to 26 weeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period to care for a service member. The service member must be your spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin, must be undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy, for a serious illness or Injury incurred in the line of duty while in military service, and must be an Outpatient, or on the temporary disability retired list of the armed services.

Your leave will end on the earlier of your return to work or 12 weeks, or 26 weeks if applicable. If you do not return to work within 12 weeks, or 26 weeks if applicable, you may qualify for COBRA Continuation Coverage.

The Fund will maintain your eligibility and medical coverage until the end of the leave, provided your Employer properly grants the leave under the federal law and makes the required notification to the Fund. Contact your Employer for more information relating to a leave under the FMLA.

An Employer is required to grant FMLA leave to eligible Employees if it employs 50 or more Employees within a 75-mile radius for at least 20 weeks of the current or preceding year. To be eligible for FMLA benefits, an Employee must:

  • Work for an Employer required to grant FMLA leaves;
  • Have worked for that Employer for a total of at least 12 months;
  • Have worked at least 1,250 hours over the previous 12 months; and
  • Work at a location in the United States or in any territory or possession of the United States where at least 50 Employees are employed by the Employer within 75 miles.

You or your Employer must notify the Fund Office if you are taking a FMLA leave.