LEAVE ENTITLEMENTS
Covered employees who work for a legislative branch employing office can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job protected leave in a 12- month period for:
- The birth of a child or placement of a child for adoption or foster care;
- To bond with a child (within one year of the child’s birth or placement);
- To care for the employee’s spouse, child, or parent who has a qualifying health condition;
- For the employee’s own qualifying health condition;
- For qualifying situations related to military deployment.
BENEFITS & PROTECTIONS
An eligible legislative branch employee who is a covered service-member’s spouse, child, parent, or next-of-kin may also take up to 26 weeks of FMLA leave in a single 12-month period to care for the service-member with a serious injury or illness.
An employee does not need to use leave in one block. In some cases, employees may take leave intermittently or on a reduced schedule. Employees may choose, or an employing office may require, use of accrued paid leave while taking FMLA leave.
Employing offices must continue health insurance coverage as if the employees were not on leave.
Upon return from FMLA leave, most employees must be restored to the same job or one nearly identical to it with equivalent pay, benefits, and other employment terms and conditions.
An employing office may not interfere with an individual’s FMLA rights or retaliate against someone for using or trying to use FMLA leave.
ELIGIBILITY
To be eligible for FMLA leave, a legislative branch employee must meet two criteria:
- Have worked for any employing office of the legislative branch for at least 12 contiguous months prior to the first day that the FMLA leave would begin. Employees may add together the months worked for two separate legislative branch employing offices. Time worked in the federal executive branch is not eligible for inclusion in the 12 month work requirement in the legislative branch.
- Have at least 1,250 hours of service in the 12 months before taking leave.
