FMLA Expansion Signed into Law

On Monday, January 28, 2008, President Bush signed into law an expansion of FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act). Under the new law, two additional events have been added to FMLA.

Family Leave Due to a Call to Active Duty -This benefit provides 12 weeks of FMLA leave due to a spouse, son, daughter or parent being on active duty or having been notified of an impending call or order to active duty in the Armed Forces. Leave may be used for any "qualifying exigency" arising out of the servicemember's current tour of active duty or because the servicemember is notified of an impending call to duty in support of a contingency operation.

Caregiver Leave for an Injured Servicemember -This benefit provides 26 weeks of FMLA leave during a single 12-month period for a spouse, son, daughter, parent, or nearest blood relative caring for a recovering service member. A recovering service member is defined as a member of the Armed Forces who suffered an injury or illness while on active-duty that may render the person unable to perform the duties of the member's office, grade, rank or rating.

The Department of Labor will be issuing regulations to fully implement this law. Click the following DOL FMLA Post for more information.

We will follow up in a future post with more information about how to handle FMLA in Sage Abra Payroll.

Posted by: Tim Ross