The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides 12 weeks of unpaid job-protection to eligible employees for specific family and medical reasons. While on FMLA, group health insurance coverage will continue under the same terms and conditions as if the employee has not taken leave. 

Eligible employees are entitled to:

• 12 workweeks/480 work hours of leave in a 12-month period for:
  • the birth and care of a newborn child within one year of birth;
  • the legal placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care and to care for the newly placed child within one year of placement;
  • the care of an immediate family member: spouse, child or parent with a serious health condition;
  • the employee's own serious health condition, that makes the employee unable to perform the essential functions of the job;
  • a child, spouse 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 service member's current tour of active duty or because the service member is notified of an impending call to duty in support of a contingency operation.
• 26 workweeks/1,040 work hours of leave during a single 12-month period to care for a covered service member with a serious injury or illness if the eligible employee is the service member’s spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin.

Eligibility Requirements and FMLA Request

Full and part-time faculty and staff must be employed for at least 12 months and have worked at least 1,250 hours in the previous 12-month period prior to the start of the leave.

To apply for FMLA, submit the FMLA Leave Request form at least 30 days before the leave is to commence. When submission of the request 30 days in advance is not feasible, submit the request as early as possible. The employer reserves the right to deny or postpone leave for failure to give appropriate notice when such denial/postponement would be permitted under federal or state law. When the FMLA leave request is received, a benefits specialist will contact the employee regarding the request and provide the necessary forms required to initiate a FMLA claim.

Returning from FMLA

If the employee is absent due to a personal illness or injury, the employee is required to provide a return to work release form to the Human Resources office prior to returning to work. This form must be completed by your health care professional.

The university is required to return the employee to the same or equivalent position and reinstate all benefits which the employee was eligible to receive before the FMLA leave occurred.

If you have questions about the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), contact a Human Resources Benefits Specialist or email benefits@jmu.edu.