Abstract The Family and Medical Leave Act is administered by the Employment Standards Administration's Wage and Hour Division within the U.S. Department of Labor. The FMLA allows an employee to take up to 12 weeks of job- protected leave within a 12 month period for the following reasons: (a) birth of a new baby or placement of an adopted or foster child; (b) care of an immediate family member with a serious health condition. Immediate family members are to include spouse, parent, and children; (c) care of the employee’s own serious health condition. Are dead beat parents entitled to these privileges? The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 was signed into law by President Bill Clinton on February 5, 1993. The federal law became effective August 5, 1993 and revised with an effective date of January 16, 2009. The FMLA was once again amended by the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2010 (www.dop.nv.gov). The amendment by the NDAA expanded FMLA coverage to those eligible employees with family members enlisted in the Regular Armed Forces and coverage for “military caregiver leave” to eligible personnel who are immediately related to certain veterans with a serious injury or illness (www.wagehour.dol.gov).
Explain if it matter that a parent literally had nothing to do with a biological child in order for the child to take advantage of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to care for that parent.

Per the Family and Medical Leave Act, an employee can request unpaid leave for up to 12 weeks within a 12 month period to care for an immediate family member, who includes a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition. A serious health condition is defined as an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition. The employee himself or immediate family member must suffer from such serious health condition (www.wagehour.dol.gov). The federal law does not directly stipulate that the parent of the employee has to have been involved in the employee’s life as a child. To care for an absent parent is a moral decision that has to be made solely by the covered employee.
Explain whether the size of the business can have any effect on whether Tony is eligible for family leave under the FMLA.

The FMLA pertains to all state, local and federal employers, local education agencies (schools), and private-sector employers who employ 50 or more employees in 20 or more workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year, including joint employers and successors of covered employers (www.wagehour.dol.gov). As Tony exclaimed, Rally Motors has more than fifty employees. The fact that all the employees are not considered full- time workers does not exclude Rally Motors from granting its employees a leave of absence acquired by the right to leave under the FMLA.
Tony must also meet the list of requirements that brands him as an eligible employee. Per the FMLA administered by the United States Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, employees must meet the following requirements prior to taking a leave of absence covered by the FMLA:
• Work for a covered employer
• Have worked for the employer for 12 months (not necessarily consecutive)
• Have worked a minimum of 1,250 hours over the previous 12 months
• Work at a location in the US or in any possession of the US where at least 50 employees are employed by the employer within a 75 mile radius.

If Tony meets all eligibility requirements he is entitled to leave governed by the FMLA; therefore for Rally Motor’s not to grant Tony the requested leave time will be unlawful.
Explain whether Herman can or cannot imply that if Tony takes a leave of absence under the FMLA, he may not have a job when he returns.

It would not be in the best interest of Herman nor Rally Motors to imply that if Tony takes a leave of absence under the FMLA, he may not have a job when he returns. Employee’s positions are protected by the Job Protection clause of the FMLA. The FMLA states that upon return from leave, an employee must be reinstated into the employee’s original position or to a position of equal status with equal pay, benefits, and all other terms and conditions that satisfy employment. The use of FMLA leave cannot result in the loss of employment or any benefit earned by the employee prior to using FMLA leave nor can the leave be counted against the employee under a “no fault” attendance policy (www.wagehour.dol.gov). A covered employer must maintain group health insurance coverage for an employee utilizing FMLA leave. The terms of the employee’s insurance cannot change while on FMLA leave; all insurance benefits must remain the same as if the employee has continued to work. Under the FMLA the employee is responsible for its share of health insurance premiums while on leave (www.wagehour.dol.gov). Based on the job protection clause included in the FMLA it would be unlawful for Herman to imply that upon Tony’s return to work he would not have a job. Herman’s snide remarks can cause unwanted trouble and litigations for Rally Motors.

Describe who is covered by the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993.

The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 was established to grant most Federal employees a total of up to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period for the following purposes:
• the birth of a child of the employee and the care of child;
• the placement of an adopted or foster child and the care of such child;
• the care of spouse, son, daughter, or parent of the employee who has a serious health condition; or
• a serious health condition of the employee that makes the employee unable to perform the essential functions of their position.

Under certain conditions, an employee may use the 12 weeks of FMLA leave intermittently such as for doctor’s appointments. An employee may elect to substitute annual leave and/or sick leave, consistent with current laws and OPM's regulations for using annual and sick leave, for unpaid leave under the FMLA (www.opm.gov/oca/leave).
Explain the extent to which an employer can make his or her own determination as to the eligibility of an employee under the Family and Medical Leave Act.
FMLA covered employers must post an announcement approved by the Secretary of Labor explaining rights and responsibilities under the FMLA. Any employer that knowingly violates this requirement may be subject to a civil penalty of up to $110 for each separate wrongdoing. Also, employers must either include this general notice in its employee handbooks or other written guidance concerning benefits, or must distribute a copy of the notice to each new hire. Employers may use the notification prepared by U.S. Department of Labor to meet this requirement (www.wagehour.dol.gov).
When an employee requests FMLA leave, the employer must notify the employee of his or her eligibility to take leave, and inform the employee of their rights and responsibilities under the FMLA. When the employer has enough information to determine that leave is being taken for a FMLA-qualifying reason, the employer must notify the employee that the leave is designated and will be counted as FMLA leave (www.wagehour.dol.gov).
Employers may require that an employee’s request for leave due to a serious health condition affecting the employee or a covered family member be verified by certification from the employee’s health care provider. An employer may request additional medical opinions and periodic recertification of a serious health condition. An employer may use a health care provider, a human resource professional, a leave administrator, or a management official to authenticate a medical certification of a serious health condition (www.wagehour.dol.gov).

References www.dop.nv.gov www.opm.gov/oca/leave
www.wagehour.dol.gov