Are Public Agencies Under FMLA?

President Bill Clinton signed the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) into law in 1993. The law requires employers to provide employees with leave for births, serious health conditions or to care for an ill family member.

Employers Under FMLA

• The FMLA applies to all employers with 50 or more employees during at least 20 work weeks. All public agencies, including state, local and federal employers, fall under FMLA regardless of the number of employees.

Employee Eligibility

• Employees must meet several requirements to be eligible for FMLA leave. An employee must have worked for the employer for a total of 12 months, and worked for at least 1,250 hours.

Eligible Reasons to Take Leave

• The FMLA allows employees to take up to 12 work weeks of leave for several reasons, including a serious medical condition, birth or adoption of a child, or to provide care for an immediate family member.

  A serious medical condition is an illness or injury that requires inpatient care at a hospital or ongoing medical treatment from a healthcare provider.

  For a birth or adoption, the leave generally begins when the child is born or after adoption. If both the father and mother work for the same employer, only one of them may take leave.