Human Resource Blog

FMLA in Small Offices

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Has Ohio changed its FMLA laws? We are a small office, there’s four of us, and we have an employee getting ready to have a baby. I heard that the laws were changing and wanted to make sure that we do the right thing.

The Ohio family leave law applies only to public agencies such as state and local governments.

For businesses, the relevant statute is the FMLA, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. The FMLA gives employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave within 12 months for a serious health condition, or to bond with a new child. This includes a newly adopted child or a new foster child under the age of 18.

There are several changes under the FMLA proposed by the US Department of Labor in February 2008. However, none of them extends FMLA coverage to smaller employers. Companies with 50 workers within 75 miles are subject to the FMLA law.

However, under FMLA virtually all schools, hospitals and healthcare facilities, including nursing homes, are covered.

Of course, many smaller employers choose to offer similar unpaid leave to workers, but that is their option.

Here are some of the changes under the new FMLA regulations:

– A new provision of the FMLA called NDAA grants unpaid leave to families when one member is called to active military service.

– The NDAA is extended to 26 weeks of unpaid, job protected leave for the next-of-kin to care for a soldier who is injured on active duty.

– Employees can still use FMLA intermittently under the new regulations, but they must follow the employer’s usual call-in policies in most cases

– Employers are allowed to require re-certification of the employee’s serious health condition every 6 months

For more on FMLA changes, check out the articles on FMLA and NDAA here.