VetsFirst was at the U.S. Department of Labor with First Lady Michelle Obama and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis on January 30 for an announcement regarding proposed changes to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) that will benefit the family members of certain injured or ill servicemembers and veterans.
The Department of Labor is proposing changes to the FMLA that will allow more families to benefit from the 26 weeks of military caregiver leave available under the FMLA.
In general, the FMLA allows eligible family members who work for covered employers the opportunity to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave due to, for instance, the serious health condition of a family member. Congress amended the FMLA in 2008 to provide more generous benefits for family members who need leave to care for certain injured or ill servicemembers.
The latest set of proposed regulations are necessary to implement amendments to the FMLA that were included in the FY 2010 National Defense Authorization Act. The proposed changes would provide greater eligibility for the special 26 weeks of FMLA by extending it to family members who are caring for veterans who have a serious injury or illness due to their service and were discharged from active duty within the previous five years.
The rule also extends the 26 weeks of FMLA to the family members of active duty servicemembers and veterans with serious injuries or illnesses that are the result of the aggravation of a preexisting condition in the line of duty.
Although the proposed changes have not yet been officially published in the Federal Register, the text is available at: http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/NPRM/FMLA_NPRM_2012.pdf.
Heather Ansley
VP of Veterans Policy
VetsFirst