All covered employers are required to display and keep displayed a poster prepared by the Department of Labor summarizing the major provisions of the FMLA and telling employees how to file a complaint. The poster must be displayed in a conspicuous place where employees and applicants for employment can see it. A poster must be displayed at all locations even if there are no eligible employees.
Eligible employees my take FMLA leave for a serious mental health condition or to care for a family member who has a serious mental health condition.
A mother can take FMLA leave for prenatal care, incapacity related to pregnancy, and for her own serious health condition following the birth of a child. A father can also use FMLA leave to care for his spouse who is incapacitated due to pregnancy or child birth. Time taken off work due to pregnancy complications can be counted against the 12 weeks of family and medical leave.
Learn about maternal health at work
It can be hard to request time off for medical reasons. DOL's tools can help workers prepare for the conversation:
Employers may require employees to provide certification issued by a healthcare provider to confirm that the employee or their family member is experiencing a serious health condition. Furthermore, when an employee returns to work after taking leave for their own serious medical condition, employers may request they submit a fitness-for-duty certification, as long as this is a policy that applies to all employees who take leave for serious health conditions.
When a worker or their family member has cancer, they may be eligible to take unpaid, job protected leave under FMLA. They may also be eligible to take leave for medical care prior to a cancer diagnosis or for ongoing care when the cancer is in remission.
Learn about workplace protections related to cancer
The spouse, child, parent, or next of kin of an ill or injured covered service member is entitled to 26 workweeks of military family leave during a single 12-month period to provide care for the service member.
DOL’s Wage and Hour Division is committed to providing assistance to employers and helping increase their knowledge of the law. This Employer Notification Requirements fact sheet is designed to provide essential information about the FMLA.
A special hours of service eligibility requirement for airline flight crewmembers and flight attendants reflects the unique scheduling requirements of the airline industry. An airline flight crew employee will meet the FMLA hours of service eligibility requirement if he or she has
Worked or been paid for not less than 60 percent of the applicable total monthly guarantee (or its equivalent) AND
Has worked or been paid for not less than 504 hours (not including personal commute time or time spent on vacation, medical, or sick leave) during the previous 12 months.
For more information, see
Employees may take family or medical leave intermittently under certain circumstances. If the intermittent leave is for planned medical treatment, they must try to schedule it in a way that doesn’t unduly disrupt operations. Employers may temporarily transfer an employee taking intermittent leave for planned medical treatment to an alternative job with equivalent pay and benefits to accommodate recurring periods of leave better than the employee’s regular job.
