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FMLA

Family & Medical Leave Act


The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 provides covered employees with the right to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period for the following reasons:


  * the birth and care of a son or daughter of the employee;

  * the placement for adoption or foster care of a son or daughter with the employee;

  * the care of spouse, son, daughter, or parent of the employee who has a serious health    condition; or

  * serious health condition of the employee that makes the employee unable to perform    the essential functions of his or her positions.


It is important, if you need to use this Act, to understand your rights and responsibilities. Misunderstanding can lead to errors, which can lead to problems. You must understand what you must do to preserve your rights.



Link to the APWU web site relating to FMLA.


Link to the Department of Labor web site relating to FMLA.


Link to the National Association of Letter Carriers web site relating to FMLA.


Link to the Office of Personnel Management web site relating to FMLA,

  and a one page information sheet.


The EEOC has a page of information. It is intended “to provide technical assistance on some common questions that have arisen about the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) when the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) also applies.”


If you still have questions regarding eligibility,

contact your steward or an APWU officer.


Other links:

National Partnership for Women & Families


AFL CIO


University of Iowa


National Coalition to Protect Family Leave


AFSCME


Recovery Connection - FMLA Information

New Family and Medical Leave Act Regulations


For the first time since its creation in 1993, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is changing.


Some revisions include:

Employer notice: Employers are required to notify employees of the amount of FMLA leave being charged and the employee’s paid leave status.


Also, employers are required to notify employees if their FMLA certifications are incomplete or insufficient and give them the opportunity to remedy any deficiency.


Employee notice: Employees must follow the employer’s usual and customary call-in procedures for reporting an absence, except under unusual circumstances.


Also, the new regulations require employees who request leave for an approved FMLA case to specifically reference their FMLA case at the time of their request.


Clarifying “serious medical condition.” The new rules keep the six definitions of a serious medical condition, but require health care providers to include some of the details about the illness, project the number of days employees will be out of work and the number of necessary health care provider visits.


The Department of Labor has new FMLA forms available for use. Click here to read the FMLA final rule. Contact your FMLA coordinator for more information.

FMLA
Information
Family & Medical Leave
Your Employee FMLA Rights!
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Your Employee FMLA Rights

APWU Web News Article 152-2010, Dec. 17, 2010


Union Encourages Members to Use Department of Labor Forms For FMLA Leave Requests


The APWU is encouraging members to use Department of Labor forms when requesting Family & Medical Leave, while the union pursues a dispute with the Postal Service over employees’ right to use APWU forms or other equivalent documentation.


In a Dec. 17, 2010, memo to local, state, and national union officers, Mike Morris, director of Industrial Relations, wrote that the APWU continues to assert that use of Department of Labor (DOL) forms are optional. Under the Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA), medical certification provided in any format must be accepted, as long as it contains all of the information required under the law, he said.


Despite the APWU’s position, Morris said, the union is encouraging employees to use the DOL Forms WH-380E [PDF] and WH-380F [PDF] until such time as a national-level grievance on the issue is resolved. The union filed a dispute on the matter, after management notified the APWU of its intent to require employees to use the DOL forms.


In the past, the union encouraged members to use forms offered by the APWU, because the DOL forms ask physicians to provide some information that is not required by FMLA regulations.