Amendments to FMLA’s Military Leave Provisions Proposed

The U.S. Department of Labor’s wage-and-hour division is proposing regulations that expand employers’ Family and Medical Leave Act requirements for caregivers of injured veterans.

The Labor Department said the proposal released Jan. 30 implements amendments to the military leave provisions of the FMLA made by the National Defense Authorization Act of 2010. That legislation extends FMLA military caregiver leave to family members of certain veterans with serious injuries or illnesses.

The department’s proposal also amends regulations to the Airline Flight Crew Technical Corrections Act, which established new FMLA leave eligibility requirements for airline flight crew members and flight attendants. In addition, said the DOL, the proposal includes changes concerning the calculation of leave and reorganization of certain sections to enhance clarity, among other changes.

According to a fact sheet issued by the DOL, the proposal:

• Expands coverage to veterans who have been discharged within the five preceding years. It also expands military caregiver leave to cover serious injuries or illnesses that result from the aggravation of a pre-existing condition in the line of duty for active service members and covered veterans.

• Expands the FMLA’s military family leave by extending qualifying exigency leave to include employees whose family members serve in the regular armed forces, in addition to the National Guard and Reserves.

• Changes flight crews’ hours of service eligibility requirements. Flight crew members will meet the hours of service eligibility requirement if they have worked or been paid for at least 60% of the standard 40-hour work week.

The notice of proposed rulemaking can be found at www.dol.gov.

Judy Greenwald writes for Business Insurance, a sister publication of Workforce Management. To comment, email editors@workforce.com.

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