Human Resource Blog

Louisiana FMLA

	Benefits
Total Compensation Summary Performance Improvement Plan Performance Appraisal and Review Employee Payroll Status/Change Form Employee Change Form

	Compensation
Employee Payroll Action Form W-4 Employee Withholding Allowance Cert. Employee Payroll Status/Change Form Direct Deposit Form Total Compensation Summary

An employee works in Louisiana but lives nearby in Texas. I believe that Louisiana has a state law guaranteeing 16 weeks of paid maternity leave, while Texas only grants 12 weeks under the federal FMLA. Are they covered under the labor laws of Louisiana or Texas? Can this be appealed?

Louisiana has no family leave or maternity leave law. It has no law guaranteeing 16 weeks of paid leave. It is covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act, or FMLA, which gives every worker the right to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a newborn child. In that regard it is covered by the same law that governs Texas.

The confusion may have stemmed from the fact that a business in Louisiana has its own policy of granting 16 weeks of paid maternity leave. Or maybe it was mandated by a union contract.

State labor laws, when they do exist, apply to every business in a state and every worker in that business, regardless of where the employees live. State labor laws, in short, apply to the operations of the businesses within their borders. The home state of the worker is irrelevant. She or he could be commuting daily by plane from Florida to work in Oregon, and would be covered by the labor laws, if any, of Oregon.

FMLA is an unpaid but job-protected leave. It’s not only guaranteed to workers who need time to care for a newborn, but may be used in the event of a newly adopted child or a foster child under 18 years old. An employee may take FMLA leave for a serious illness, or to care for a member of the immediate family who is gravely ill.

It’s job-protected because the employee is entitled to her or his job when returning, or to a job with similar pay, working conditions, and benefits.

The law applies to any company with 50 or more workers within 75 miles of the workplace. A worker does not qualify until she or he has worked at least 1,250 hours during a 12-month period.

What if a worker wishes to be covered by the labor laws of her or his home state?  Let’s assume “Mark” lives in California, known for its generous labor laws, but works in Arizona. Can Mark successfully appeal to be covered by the laws of his home state of California? No.  JH