The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal statute (applicable in all states) that entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for certain family and medical reasons—and with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave. See 29 U.S.C. §§2601-2654.

Under the FMLA, eligible employees are entitled to twelve workweeks of leave in a twelve-month period for:

• the birth of a child and to care for the newborn child within one year of birth;

• the placement with the employee of a child for adoption or foster care and to care for the newly placed child within one year of placement;

• to care for the employee’s spouse, child, or parent who has a serious health condition;

• a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the essential functions of his or her job;

• any qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that the employee’s spouse, son, daughter, or parent is a covered military member on “covered active duty;” or

• twenty-six workweeks of leave during a single twelve-month period to care for a covered service member with a serious injury or illness if the eligible employee is the service member’s spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin (military caregiver leave).

In Virginia, as in all states, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides eligible employees with the right to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave within a 12-month period for specified family and medical reasons, which include the birth or adoption of a child, to care for an immediate family member with a serious health condition, or for the employee's own serious health condition. Additionally, eligible employees may take leave for certain situations related to a family member's covered military service, and up to 26 weeks of military caregiver leave to care for a covered service member with a serious injury or illness. To be eligible for FMLA leave, an employee must work for a covered employer, have worked for the employer for at least 12 months, and have logged at least 1,250 hours of service in the 12 months prior to the start of the leave. Covered employers include public agencies, public and private elementary and secondary schools, and companies with 50 or more employees. Employees on FMLA leave must be provided with continued group health insurance coverage under the same terms as if they had not taken leave.