- The United States Congress enacted the Family and Medical Leave Act in 1993 to allow protected time off for workers to care for ailing family members. Qualifying employees may take up to 12 weeks off work without danger of losing their jobs. This is unpaid time off. You may take this time to care for a newborn or an adopted child; to care for a child, parent or spouse who has a serious illness; if you are unable to work due to your own health condition or due to an emergency that arises when your spouse is called into active military duty. In 2009, these benefits were extended to military personnel.
- The state of Washington enacted its Family Leave Act in 2006. The U.S. law allows workers to take advantage of state benefits if they are greater than federal benefits. In Washington State, the state law offers three advantages to certain workers. For example, a pregnant woman in Washington may take up to 12 weeks off after the birth of her child, in addition to any time off mandated by her physician, compared to the federal law, which allows only 12 weeks total. The state benefit in Washington extends to domestic partners as well as legal spouses, and if an employee uses up all his benefits due to a spouse's deployment in the armed forces, he is allowed an additional 12 weeks to care for an ill family member or to recover from his own serious illness.
- In order to qualify for a leave under both the Washington and U.S. laws, you must have worked for your employer for at least a year prior to your leave, and you must have worked at least 1,250 hours during that year. Your employer must have at least 50 employees that work within 75 miles of your workplace. In other words, if your employer has five employees if your location, and 100 employees in another state, you would not qualify for leave. You must provide notice of your intention to take leave 30 days in advance, if practical, or as soon as possible in case of an emergency. When you return to work, your employer must give you your same job or one with equivalent pay and benefits.
- You're only allowed to use one 12-week leave during any 12-month period, with the exception of an additional 12 weeks for illness if you use up your first 12 weeks due to a spouse's deployment. If you and your spouse work for the same employer, you may only take a total of 12 weeks to care for a child or parent or deal with a birth or adoption. Thus, you might each take six weeks leave. Your employer must continue your health coverage while you're on leave, but he may ask you to pay all of the premiums or may make arrangements for you to reimburse him for the cost of the health insurance once you return to work.
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