Human Resource Blog

Louisiana FMLA Domestic Partners

In Louisiana, can an employee take FMLA leave to care for their domestic partner?

A new federal law would have to be passed recognizing domestic partnerships, or the U.S. Department of Labor regulations revised, before such leave would be guaranteed under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Many people in this country are still reluctant to recognize gay couples, however, so it is not likely to happen soon.

Domestic partnerships, whether between 2 men, 2 women, or a man and a woman, have no legal status under federal law in the U.S. Other countries, including Canada, have recognized such partnerships. They have granted many legal benefits of marriage in those cases. The U.S. is not among those countries.

Some states in the U.S. have passed family leave laws that expand the definition of “immediate family” to include domestic partnerships, among them Hawaii and California. Louisiana is not among them.

In Louisiana, as a result, the law does not require employers to grant FMLA leave to care for a domestic partner with a serious health condition. For example, if Mary and John have been living together for 25 years and Mary has cancer requiring constant care, John would not be guaranteed FMLA leave.

The FMLA guarantees up to 12 weeks annually of unpaid, job protected leave to care for a member of the immediate family with a serious illness. So far, the U.S. Labor Department defines “immediate family” as a spouse, parent, son, or daughter. Other relatives, or domestic partners, are not included, although the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) has expanded FMLA leave for military families to include “next of kin.” The definition of “next of kin” has not yet been specified, but will probably include relations like in-laws and grandparents, as well as aunts and uncles – not domestic partners.

Hawaii law allows workers to take as much as 4 weeks of paid or unpaid leave to care for an in-law, a grandparent, or a “reciprocal beneficiary.” California’s law permits employees to take time off to care for a seriously ill parent, child, spouse, or domestic partner.

Companies may establish policies granting leave to care for a seriously ill domestic partner. They are simply not required to do so under the law. JH