FMLA & Family Leave Policy template

2. Who is eligible

Per the Department of Labor, the FMLA applies to employers with 50 or more employees within 75 miles. [{{org.name}} is / is not / is in some locations] a covered employer — [name/role] confirms coverage for each work location and keeps this section current.

To take FMLA leave, an employee must also meet the FMLA's eligibility criteria, which depend on length and amount of service — [name/role] checks requests against the current DOL criteria rather than restating figures that can change. State programs listed below have their own eligibility rules, which can cover employees the FMLA does not.

3. Reasons for leave

Eligible employees may take leave under this policy for the qualifying reasons the FMLA recognizes (per the DOL):

• The birth of a child, and bonding with the newborn.
• The placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care, and bonding with that child.
• The employee's own serious health condition that leaves them unable to perform the essential functions of their job, including pregnancy-related incapacity.
• Caring for the employee's [spouse, child, or parent — as defined by the FMLA] with a serious health condition.
• Qualifying needs arising from a family member's covered military service, including military caregiver leave [see the DOL for the current terms of its separate entitlement].
• Bonding leave is available to all parents on equal terms, regardless of gender.

4. Requesting leave

• Tell [name/role] as soon as the need is known — with [advance notice consistent with current FMLA rules] where the leave is foreseeable, such as a due date or scheduled treatment.
• Employees do not need to say "FMLA" — any request signaling a qualifying reason is treated as a potential FMLA request, and managers route it to [name/role] the same day.
• {{org.name}} may require medical certification, using the current DOL forms and process, and will give the eligibility, rights, and designation notices the FMLA requires, within its timeframes.
• Leave may be taken in one block or — where the FMLA allows — intermittently or on a reduced schedule, arranged with [name/role]. [Applications for state wage-replacement benefits are covered in the state section below.]

5. Pay during leave

FMLA leave is unpaid — there is no federal paid family leave. Pay during leave comes from the layers that apply to each employee:

• Accrued PTO: employees [are required to / may elect to] substitute accrued PTO during otherwise unpaid FMLA leave, per the PTO policy [subject to state program rules on combining PTO with state benefits].
• State paid family leave benefits, where the employee works in a state with a program — see the state section below.
• [Short-term disability benefits, where {{org.name}} offers them and the absence qualifies under the plan.]
• [Any {{org.name}} paid parental or medical leave: [amount, eligibility] — provided by choice, on the terms here.]

6. Benefits and job protection

During FMLA leave, {{org.name}} maintains group health coverage on the same terms as if the employee were working, per the FMLA; the employee's premium share is paid by [arrangement during leave]. On return, the employee is restored to the same or an equivalent job — equivalent pay, benefits, and conditions — as the FMLA requires.

Taking leave under this policy is never held against an employee: it does not count against attendance or performance standards, and retaliation for requesting or taking protected leave is treated as a serious violation. [Fitness-for-duty certification may be required before return from leave for the employee's own condition, applied consistently and with notice.]

7. State paid family leave programs

Many states and some localities now operate paid family and medical leave programs, funded by payroll contributions, with their own eligibility rules, benefit amounts, covered relationships, and job protections that can be broader than the FMLA's. A policy that stops at federal law misstates the rights of employees in those states — which is why this section exists.

For each state where {{org.name}} employs people: [state] — [program name; who is eligible; how to apply; how benefits coordinate with PTO and any {{org.name}} paid leave; required notices and posters]. [Name/role] checks each program's official authority [frequency, e.g. annually] and whenever {{org.name}} starts employing in a new state — the state authority's current guidance controls over anything summarized here.

8. Records and review

Leave requests, designations, certifications, and related records are kept at [system/location] for [period] — medical information is kept confidential, in files separate from the personnel file, with access limited to [roles]. Required FMLA and state postings are displayed at [locations] and kept current.

This policy is reviewed [frequency, e.g. annually], whenever {{org.name}} starts employing in a new state, and whenever federal or state leave law changes. Owner: [name/role]. Next review due: [date].