Mariah Passarelli wrote an article about the challenges that employers face with the Family and Medical Leave Act. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) applies to employers with 50 or more employees. Marking the 20th Anniversary of the FMLA in 2013, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division released the findings of a survey titled Family and Medical Leave Act in 2012: Final Report. That survey (which remains the most recent data available) showed that “nearly 60% of employees meet all criteria for coverage and eligibility under the FMLA.” Successfully administering the FMLA is a challenge for many employers in the best of circumstances. One situation that has been historically difficult to navigate occurs when an FMLA-eligible employee demands to take paid time off (PTO) before beginning a period of FMLA leave, instead of exhausting his/her PTO concurrent with FMLA leave (as required by many employer policies). The Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued an Opinion Letter that clarifies the rights of employers in such a scenario (DOL Opinion Letter FMLA2019-1-A).
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