Family Medical Leave Act at A Glance - What New Hampshire Employees Need to Know about FMLA
The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal law that provides vital job protection to many New Hampshire employees who need to take time off from work because of their own serious health condition, or because they need to care for a parent, spouse, or child.
The FMLA is a federal law that entitles eligible New Hampshire employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave. Employees can take time all at once, or intermittently as the circumstances require.
AT A GLANCE
Covered Employers: This includes all employers with 50 or more employees in a 50-mile radius or public agency, elementary, or secondary school.
Eligible Employees: To be considered an eligible employee, employees must have been employed for one year and worked a total of 1,250 hours or more in the last 12 months.
Period of Job Protection: 12-26 work-weeks (depending on the circumstances requiring the leave)
Benefits: In addition to job protection, the FMLA entitles covered employees to continue group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave.
Details for New Hampshire Employees
Eligible employees are entitled to:
Twelve work-weeks of Family Medical leave in a 12-month period for any of the following circumstances:
- The birth of a child and to care for the newborn child within one year of birth
- The placement with the employee of a child for adoption or foster care and to care for the newly placed child within one year of placement
- To care for the employee’s spouse, child, or parent who has a serious health condition
- A serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the essential functions of his or her job
- Any qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that the employee’s spouse, son, daughter, or parent is a covered military member on “covered active duty.”
Additional benefits for Military Caregivers -
If the eligible employee is the service member’s spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin and needs to care for a covered military service member with a serious injury or illness, employees coverage extends to twenty-six work-weeks of family medical leave during a single 12-month period.
Rice Law Office specializes in employment law and workers' compensation benefits. Learn more about employment laws in New Hampshire from our list of employment related blogs: https://ricelaw-office.com/blog/categories/employment
