The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) provides that qualified employees may take up to 12 weeks of un-paid, job-protected leave during any 12-month period for reasons such as the birth and care of a newborn child of the employee, the care of an immediate family member who has a serious medical condition, and the serious health care issue of the employee that make the employee unable to perform the essential functions of his or her job.

The FMLA requires employers to restore employees who have taken FMLA leave in the same or equivalent position in which they worked with the pay, benefits and responsibilities similar to what they received prior to the FMLA leave.

The FMLA only applies to employers with fifty (50) or more employees. In order for an employee to be eligible for leave under the FMLA, the employee must have (a) worked at least twelve (12) months for the employer, and (b) worked at least 1,250 hours for the employer in the twelve (12) months immediately before the FMLA leave begins.