Human Resource Blog

What are the mandated leave benefits?

i have an exam in my human resource subject tom and one of the pointers we have to review is about the mandated leave benefits. can you give me examples of these? are paternity leave, maternity leave, etc part of the mandated leave benefits? thanks!

The biggest mandated leave benefit is the federal FMLA, which entitles most employees to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave. FMLA applies when an employee has a serious health condition (including pregnancy), when an employee must care for an immediate family member (parent, son or daughter under 18, spouse) with a serious health condition, or to care for and bond with a new child. Most *maternity* and *paternity* leave in the U.S. is actually granted under FMLA. Employers with 50 workers within 75 miles are covered by FMLA — smaller companies are not.

The federal PDA or Pregnancy Discrimination Act requires that if a company offers benefits to employees for a medical condition such as a heart attack, it also offer the same benefits for childbirth disability.

Some states have family leave laws that apply to smaller companies. A few cities including Washington, D.C. have laws that require employers to offer a few paid sick days per year to employees, but in most areas this is optional.