Family and Medical Leave
Family and Medical Leave Act
Employee Rights and Responsibilities
Basic Leave Entitlement
FMLA requires covered employers to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave to eligible employees for the following reasons:
- For incapacity due to pregnancy, prenatal medical care or child birth;
- To care for the employee's child after birth, or placement for adoption or foster care;
- To care for the employee's spouse, son or daughter, or parent, who has a serious health condition; or
- For a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the employee's job.
Military Family Leave Entitlements
Eligible employees with a spouse, son, daughter, or parent on active duty or call to active duty status in the National Guard or Reserves in support of a contingency operation may use their 12-week leave entitlement to address certain qualifying exigencies. Qualifying exigencies may include attending certain military events, arranging for alternative childcare, addressing certain financial and legal arrangements, attending certain counseling sessions, and attending post-deployment reintegration briefings.
FMLA also includes a special leave entitlement that permits eligible employees to take up to 26 weeks of leave to care for a covered servicemember during a single 12-month period. A covered servicemember is a current member of the Armed Forces, including a member of the National Guard or Reserves, who has a serious injury or illness incurred in the line of duty on active duty that may render the servicemember medically unfit to perform his or her duties for which the servicemember is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy; or is in outpatient status; or is on the temporary disability retired list.
Benefits and Protections
During FMLA leave, the employer must maintain the employee's health coverage under any "group health plan" on the same terms as if the employee had continued to work. Upon return from FMLA leave, most employees must be restored to their original or equivalent positions with equivalent pay, benefits, and other employment terms.
Use of FMLA leave cannot result in the loss of any employment benefit that accrued prior to the start of an employee's leave.
Eligibility Requirements
Employees are eligible for leave if they have worked for a covered employer for at least one year, for 1,250 hours over the previous 12 months, and if at least 50 employees are employed by the employer within 75 miles.
Definition of Serious Health Condition
A serious health condition is an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves either an overnight stay in a medical care facility, or continuing treatment by a health care provider for a condition that either prevents the employee from performing the functions of the employee's job, or prevents the qualified family member from participating in school or other daily activities.
Subject to certain conditions, the continuing treatment requirement may be met by a period of incapacity or more than 3 consecutive calendar days combined with at least two visits to a health care provider or one visit and a regiment of continuing treatment, or incapacity due to pregnancy, or incapacity due to a chronic condition. Other conditions may meet the definition of continuing treatment.
The Department of Human Resources is the first line of contact for direct Family Medical Leave discussions with employees. All forms must be submitted to the HR Dept for confidentiality purposes.
Questions about FMLA? Call us first!
Julie Hammond
Human Resources Officer
[email protected]
614-525-2777
Paid Family Leave Program
The Franklin County Board of Commissioners strive to recruit and retain quality employees. They offer a variety of paid leave options and benefits in order to make Franklin County a preferred employer.
Use of FMLA leave cannot result in the loss of any employment benefit that accrued prior to the start of an employee's leave.
- Paid leave allows an employee time to provide parental care immediately following the birth or adoption of a minor child
- Paid leave allows an employee time to care for a covered family member who has a serious medical condition.
To view the Paid Family Leave policy please see the Franklin County Board of Commissioners Employee Handbook Policy Number:
BOC-46.04.
Please make sure that all Paid Family Leave applications are sent directly to the Department of Human Resources office.