With a heightened awareness of workplace rights, employees who are striving to balance the demands of job and family are turning to the Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Five years ago, the last year for which data is available, an estimated 94 million employees were covered under FMLA, and up to 13 million Americans took leave under the law, reports the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL).
Federal FMLA grants eligible full-time employees (those who have worked at least 1,250 hours during a 12-month period) at organizations with a workforce of 50 or more up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for:
- the birth and care of a newborn
- the adoption of a child or foster child
- the care of an immediate family member (spouse, child or parent) with a serious health condition
- personal medical leave because of a serious health condition
“We’re definitely seeing an increase in employee awareness from a job-protection perspective,” says Terrie Sorensen, vice president of disability product management, group insurance, at Prudential Financial (No. 16 on The Fair360, formerly DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity).
