HIGHLIGHTS of the FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT 1993

EMPLOYEE'S PROVISIONS

Allows a worker to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in any 12-month period for the birth of a child or an adoption, to care for a child, spouse or parent with a serious health condition or for the worker's own serious health condition that makes it impossible to perform a job.

Employees will be required to provide 30 days' notice of foreseeable leaves for birth, adoption or planned medical treatment.

Provides that an employee must be returned to his or her old job or an equivalent position upon returning to work.

Requires an employer to keep providing health care benefits during the leave, as though the worker was still employed, but does not require the employer to pay the worker on leave.

Prohibits a worker on leave from collecting unemployment or other Government compensation.

Covers only a worker who has been employed for at least one (1) year and worked at least 1,250 hours (25 hours a week).

EMPLOYER'S PROVISIONS

Exempts any company with fewer than 50 workers within a 75-miles radius.

Allows a company to deny return to work to a "key" salaried employee within the highest paid 10 percent of its work force, if letting the worker take leave would create "substantial and grievous injury" to the business operations.

Permits an employer to obtain medical opinions and certifications on the need for the leave. Employer may require second medical opinion allows an employer to ask the employee to repay the health care premiums paid by the employer during the leave if the employee does not return to work.

Employers can substitute an employee's accrued paid leave for any part of the 12-week period of family leave.

Employers will be permitted to require an employee taking intermittent leave for planned medical treatments to transfer temporarily to an equivalent alternative position. Medical certification for such leave must include the expected dates for medical treatments and the planned duration of the treatments.

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