Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Requirements

Up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year for eligible employees, managed through a sequence of required notices, certifications, and tight deadlines.

See the Step-by-Step ProcessView FMLA Forms
What Federal leave law providing up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year for qualifying family and medical reasons (up to 26 weeks for military caregiver leave).
Who Covered employers: public agencies; public and private elementary and secondary schools; private employers with 50 or more employees within 75 miles of the worksite. Employees must have worked at least 12 months, logged at least 1,250 hours in the prior 12 months, and work at a site with 50 or more employees within 75 miles.
When Birth, adoption, or foster placement of a child; serious health condition of the employee or an immediate family member; qualifying military exigency; military caregiver leave.
Risk Private lawsuits for back pay, reinstatement, liquidated damages, and attorney fees (29 U.S.C. §2617); DOL Wage and Hour Division investigations; civil monetary penalties of up to $216 per willful failure to post the required FMLA notice (current rate per DOL, adjusted annually under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act, 29 CFR §825.300(a)).
5
Business days, employer notices

Both the Eligibility/Rights & Responsibilities Notice (WH-381) and the Designation Notice (WH-382) must each go out within 5 business days.

15
Calendar days, certification

The employee has 15 calendar days to return a requested medical certification, with at least 7 days to cure an incomplete one.

12
Weeks of leave per year

Up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave (up to 26 weeks for military caregiver leave) per applicable 12-month period.

Trigger Timing Who Acts Notes
Foreseeable leave request At least 30 days in advance Employee If 30 days isn't practicable, the employee must notify as soon as possible.
Eligibility & Rights/Responsibilities Notice (WH-381) Within 5 business days of request or knowledge of qualifying leave Employer Must be individualized; a generic policy reference does not satisfy this requirement.
Medical certification deadline 15 calendar days from employer's request Employee Extensions allowed if not practicable despite diligent good-faith effort. Employer must allow at least 7 days to cure an incomplete certification before denying leave.
Designation Notice (WH-382) Within 5 business days after receiving sufficient information to designate Employer Must state how much leave is designated and counted against the employee's annual entitlement.
Trigger: Foreseeable leave request
Timing: At least 30 days in advance (Employee)
Notes: If 30 days isn't practicable, notify as soon as possible.
Trigger: Eligibility & Rights/Responsibilities Notice (WH-381)
Timing: Within 5 business days (Employer)
Notes: Must be individualized, not a generic policy reference.
Trigger: Medical certification deadline
Timing: 15 calendar days from request (Employee)
Notes: At least 7 days to cure an incomplete certification before denial.
Trigger: Designation Notice (WH-382)
Timing: Within 5 business days after sufficient info (Employer)
Notes: Must state how much leave counts against the entitlement.
  • FMLA policy: A written policy stating which leave year method you use (calendar year, rolling 12-month backward, 12-month forward from first use, or anniversary year). This determines how you track each employee's 12-week entitlement.
  • General Notice (FMLA poster, WH-1420): Posted at each worksite; also required in your employee handbook or individually upon hire. See the Templates & Resources section below.
  • WH-381, Eligibility & Rights/Responsibilities Notice: Provided to the employee within 5 business days of a leave request or when you first learn of a qualifying reason.
  • Medical certification forms: WH-380-E (employee's serious health condition), WH-380-F (family member's condition), WH-384 (qualifying military exigency), WH-385 (military caregiver, current servicemember), WH-385-V (military caregiver, veteran). See the Templates & Resources section below for direct download links.
  • WH-382, Designation Notice: Sent within 5 business days after you have sufficient information to designate the leave.
  • Premium billing process: A written procedure for collecting the employee's share of health premiums during leave, including the grace period for late payments and consequences of non-payment.
1
Spot potential FMLATreat any leave request that could qualify (illness, surgery, family care, pregnancy, military reasons) as a possible FMLA request, even if the employee doesn't use those words. Failing to recognize a qualifying request is one of the most common FMLA mistakes.
2
Issue the Eligibility & Rights/Responsibilities Notice (WH-381)Within 5 business days of the request or learning of the qualifying reason, provide this notice to the employee. If the employee isn't eligible, check the applicable box and explain why.
3
Request certification (if applicable)Give the employee the appropriate certification form and allow 15 calendar days to return it. If the certification comes back incomplete or insufficient, provide written notice specifying what's missing and allow at least 7 days to cure.
4
Send the Designation Notice (WH-382)Within 5 business days of receiving sufficient information, designate the leave and notify the employee in writing. Specify how much leave is counted against their entitlement.
5
Maintain health coverageContinue group health coverage on the same terms as if the employee were actively working. Collect the employee's share of premiums. If they fail to pay within the grace period, you may drop coverage, but you must reinstate it without a waiting period when leave ends.
6
Track time accuratelyMonitor leave usage against the 12-week (or 26-week for military caregiver) entitlement. For intermittent leave, track in the smallest increment used by your payroll system.
7
Reinstate the employeeAt the end of FMLA leave, restore the employee to the same position or an equivalent one: same pay, benefits, shift, and working conditions. Exceptions are narrow (the "key employee" exception) and must be handled carefully with advance notice.
  • Poster (WH-1420): Must be displayed at every location where employees work. Electronic posting is acceptable if employees primarily work remotely and regularly access the posting electronically. A willful failure to post can trigger a civil monetary penalty per offense.
  • General notice to employees: In addition to posting, covered employers must include the general FMLA notice in any written policies or employee handbooks, or provide it individually to each new hire. If you have no handbook, distribute it upon hire.
  • Individual notices (WH-381, WH-382): May be delivered in person, by mail, or electronically, but electronic delivery is only valid if the employee has agreed to receive documents electronically and has the ability to access them. Fax to a confirmed number is also acceptable.
  • Language: If a significant portion of your workforce isn't proficient in English, notices must be provided in a language they can understand. DOL provides Spanish-language versions of all forms.
  • Premium payment instructions: Communicate in writing how and when premium payments are due during leave, and what happens (including the grace period) if they aren't paid on time.
  • Notices providedCopies of WH-381 (eligibility & rights/responsibilities) and WH-382 (designation notice) for each employee.
  • Medical certificationsCertifications and any recertifications, stored in a separate confidential file, not in the general personnel file.
  • Leave recordsDates and hours of leave taken, including all intermittent leave usage.
  • Premium recordsPremium billing and payment records during leave, including any grace-period notices sent to the employee.
  • Decision recordsAny documents relating to employer decisions about benefits, reinstatement, or denial of leave.
  • Retention periodFMLA records must be kept for at least 3 years and made available to the DOL upon request (29 CFR §825.500).

Common traps

Missing notice deadlines: Both the eligibility notice (WH-381) and the designation notice (WH-382) must go out within 5 business days. Missing either window can create liability even if the leave itself was handled correctly.
Not recognizing a qualifying request: Employees don't have to say "FMLA" or mention the law. If you know an absence could qualify, you're responsible for designating it. Courts consistently hold that employers can't avoid FMLA obligations by claiming they didn't know the reason for the absence.
Mishandling intermittent leave: Intermittent FMLA leave is the hardest part to track. You must count it against the employee's entitlement but can only do so in the smallest increment your payroll system uses, not in artificially larger chunks.
Reinstating to a non-equivalent position: "Equivalent" means equivalent pay, benefits, shift, schedule, and working conditions, not just a similar job title. Getting this wrong is a common source of FMLA lawsuits after leave ends.

FAQs

Does the employer continue health insurance during FMLA leave?
Yes. Coverage must continue on exactly the same terms as if the employee were actively working. The employee must continue paying their share of premiums. If they fail to pay within your stated grace period, you may drop coverage, but you must reinstate it without a waiting period when leave ends.

Who counts as "family member" for FMLA purposes?
For standard FMLA leave: spouse, child (biological, adopted, foster, step, legal ward, or a child the employee stands in loco parentis to), or parent. In-laws do not qualify. Military family leave has expanded definitions; see Special Cases & State Variations below.

Are part-time employees eligible for FMLA?
Potentially, yes. Eligibility is based on months of service and hours worked (1,250 hours in the prior 12 months), not full-time or part-time status. A part-time employee who meets both thresholds is eligible.

  • Military caregiver leave: Up to 26 weeks in a single 12-month period to care for a covered servicemember or veteran with a serious injury or illness. This replaces, not adds to, the regular 12-week entitlement for that year, for a total of up to 26 weeks.
  • Qualifying exigency leave: Up to 12 weeks for needs arising from a family member's active military deployment, such as short-notice arrangements, childcare and school activity needs, financial and legal preparation, or attendance at official military ceremonies and events.
  • State paid family and medical leave (PFML) laws: Many states (including CA, NY, NJ, WA, MA, CT, OR, CO, and others) have their own paid leave laws. These often apply to smaller employers, cover additional family relationships, and provide paid wage replacement on top of FMLA's unpaid leave. Federal FMLA and state PFML typically run concurrently. See the Other Leave Laws page.
  • 75-mile rule for multi-site employers: Each employee's eligibility depends on whether their specific worksite has 50 or more employees within 75 miles, not your total company headcount. Remote workers add complexity: DOL guidance treats the employee's home (or the office they report to) as their worksite for this calculation.
  • Interaction with ADA and workers' compensation: An employee on FMLA leave may also be entitled to reasonable accommodation under the ADA, or may be receiving workers' compensation benefits. All three can apply simultaneously, and each law's separate requirements must be satisfied independently.

All FMLA forms are free, fillable PDFs from the DOL. You're not required to use these exact forms, but they contain all required information, so using them is the easiest way to stay on the right side of the requirement. Employers may also create their own versions containing the same basic information.

Notice Forms

Certification Forms

Reference