Over the past few weeks we’ve featured the Family Medical Leave Act as part of our e-news ongoing series. P.O.W.E.R. Up! Fact of the Week in our Wednesday Weekly email. Here is a compilation of all facts in one place for your convenience.
FMLA Part 1:
If you ever find yourself in a situation that requires you to provide care for afamily member, you may want to learn about an option under the Family MedicalLeave Act to assert a special claim for an individual that raised you but is not considered your biological, step, foster, or adoptive parent. This is called “in loco parentis”. According to the U.S. Department of Labor this means, “persons…with day-to-day responsibilities to care for or financially support a child.” This is not impacted by the fact that you might have biological, step, foster, or adoptive parents. Under the law, each situation is weighed carefully to best assess whether the relationship is actually considered “in loco parentis”. Please read more about all of the requirements to claim this status on the U.S. DOL website and you can call them to discuss your individual case at 1-866-4-USWAGE (1-866-487-9243).
FMLA Part 2:
The Family Medical Leave ACT (FMLA) can be used for care of a family member or care for self. What is considered “family” under the FMLA? This covers the employee’s spouse, son, daughter, or parent that has a serious health condition. In-laws and siblings are not listed in this definition. So long as your spouse meetings the requirements we outlined in Part 1 of our series, your spouse may be able to take FMLA from their employer to care for their parent. You can print a PDF here: http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs28.pdf
FMLA Part 3:
Our family structures have evolved over the years and sometimes results in us providing care for individuals that are not our own children biologically. As a result, in 2010 the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the Department of Labor (DOL) took a look at the definition of “son and daughter”. The term “in loco parentis” is often used to refer to an adult that provides care for a child as if they were a parent but without the biological link of parenthood itself. If you are standing “in loco parentis” for a child, you might qualify to take FMLA to care for them. Remember in Part 2 of this series we mentioned that the child must be “(A) under 18 years of age or 18 years of age or (B) older and incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability.” Be prepared to prove that you provide day-to-day care or financial support for the child as well. Read more about the WHD interpretation here: http://www.dol.gov/WHD/opinion/adminIntrprtn/FMLA/2010/FMLAAI2010_3.htm
FMLA Part 4:
In the last couple of P.O.W.E.R. Ups on the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) we have talked about care for family and care of a “son or daughter”. We mentioned that the child has to be “(A) under 18 years of age or 18 years of age or (B) older and incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability.” The Department of Labor (DOL) says that a parent may qualify for care for (B) “if the adult son or daughter: 1) has a disability as defined by the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act); is incapable of self-care due to that disability; 3) has a serious health condition; and 4) is in need of care due to the serious health condition.” The DOL requires all four requirements to be met in order for an employee to be eligible for FMLA leave to care for their adult son or daughter. You can read more about this definition on the DOL website: http://www.dol.gov/WHD/opinion/adminIntrprtn/FMLA/2013/FMLAAI2013_1.htm