Human Resource Blog

Ohio FMLA for Pets

In the event that an employee comes to us with a request for FMLA from our Ohio company in order to take care of a pet that is injured, are we obligated to let that employee have the FMLA time off?

No. And you can rest easy knowing that the decision is actually not up to you. The FMLA, or Family and Medical Leave Act, is a federal Act that applies to companies in states across the U.S., including Ohio.

The Act is in place in order to ensure that if an employee has a medical condition or a covered family with a medical condition that needs special attention, the employee may take up to 12 weeks off of work each year in order to tend to the situation. The employee may only take this time off in order to care for a covered family member for covered conditions as long as the employee has worked at least 20 weeks out of the past year or a total of 1,250 hours.  

Pets and animals are not covered family members under the FMLA. As an employer, you are not permitted to allow your employee to take time off in order to take care of a pet simply because the Act does not allow for coverage of pets. The Act does, however, allow for coverage of the employee him or herself as well as qualifying family members.  

Family members that qualify for coverage may include a spouse, a child or a parent. A child must be under the age of 18. Parents need to be biological parents or guardians. However, employees that are under the age of 18 may not take FMLA time off in order to take care of a parent. Also, employees may not take time off in order to take care of an in-law.  

When an employee takes time off, the employer must ensure that the employee returns to work with the same job or with an equivalent job. Also, the employee should receive the same salary and benefits, including seniority and bonuses. However, in order for the company to qualify for coverage in the first place, it needs to have at least 50 employees within a 75-mile radius of the employee that wishes to take time off. CB