Maryland FMLA Laws on Sick Time

• Federal FMLA law enables Maryland workers to take time off to care for themselves and their families. Jupiterimages/Creatas/Getty Images

  The Family and Medical Leave Act is a federal law. It requires certain U.S. employers, including private companies and state agencies in Maryland, to grant workers up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for specific medical reasons. Eligibility to take this leave requires an employee to have worked at least 1,250 hours for the firm or agency during the preceding 12 months. The leave is to help employees maintain a balance between work and family responsibilities.

Manage and Recover from Illness

• Under the law, the company grants sick leave when an employee needs time off to manage a serious illness or disability. The company also must grant leave because of the death, illness or disability of a member of the worker's immediate family. The law defines a serious health condition as an illness, injury, impairment or physical or mental condition that requires an overnight stay in a hospital, hospice or residential medical care facility, or continuing treatment by a health care provider, according to the law.

Care for New Baby

• Companies must grant FMLA leave after the birth of a child or when a worker adopts a child. The employee must take time off within 12 months of the child's birth date or the adopted child's placement date. Additionally, the employee may take leave for pregnancy or prenatal care, according to the law.

Treatment for Chronic Illness

• The law allows an employee to take leave to attend a medical appointment for himself or a member of his immediate family, which includes the employee's child, spouse or parent. Leave may be for the employee and his immediate family to participate in a series of medical appointments designed to manage chronic illness or facilitate recuperation from an illness or surgery.

Intermittent Leave

• Although the law grants employees 12 weeks of leave, it doesn't require them to take the time all at once. An employee can opt to use the leave intermittently by arranging a reduced work schedule with his employer. The employer can ask for proof that intermittent leave is medically necessary to treat the illness. A worker who requests intermittent leave should make a reasonable effort to schedule medical treatments to avoid disrupting the employer's operations, the legislation says.