Apply for Military Medical Leave

In the United States, the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows certain employees to take time off from work for various medical reasons. In 2008, this law was amended to add two provisions specific to members of the military. Under the FMLA, the family of military members can request time off to handle emergencies related to a member’s deployment or to provide care for an ill military member. Although the FMLA does not entitle you to payment during your leave, you must be returned to the same or nearly identical job when you return.

Steps

Confirming that You Qualify

  1. Check your employer’s size. Only certain employers are covered by the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). In order to be covered, the employer must meet the following criteria:[1]
    • Your employer is a public agency or secondary school.
    • Your employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles of your worksite.
  2. Confirm that you have worked enough. You only qualify for FMLA leave if you have worked a sufficient amount of time with your employer. You must meet the following requirements:[2]
    • Have worked for your employer for at least 12 months.
    • Have worked at least 1250 hours with your employer in the 12 months before leave.
  3. Check that you qualify for exigency leave. You can qualify for “exigency leave” when a service member is deployed. Taking the leave will allow you to address problems that suddenly arise, such as making arrangements for day care or attending military ceremonies. In order to qualify, the service member must be:[3]
    • Your spouse.
    • Your parent, whether biological, adoptive, step, or foster parent.
    • Your child, whether biological, adopted, foster, or step child. Your child can also be someone who you provide day-to-day care and financial support to, even if you have no legal relationship.
  4. Check that you qualify for military caregiver leave. You can take up to 26 weeks of unpaid leave during a 12-month period to provide care to service members who are current members of the Armed Forces, National Guard or Reserves. You can also take leave for veterans if they were honorably discharged within the last five years. In order to qualify, you must be:[4]
    • The service member’s spouse.
    • The service member’s parent, including biological, adoptive, step, or foster parent.
    • The service member’s child, including biological, adoptive, foster, step, or legal ward. Any child for which the service member provided day-to-day care and financial support also qualifies.
    • The service member’s next of kin. The service member might have designated a next of kin. If not, then siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, or cousins could qualify.
  5. Check whether the service member’s illness qualifies. You cannot take caregiver leave to care for any issue. Instead, the law allows you to take FMLA leave if the service member’s illness meets the following criteria:
    • The service member is currently undergoing medical treatment, therapy, or recuperation.
    • The service member has a serious illness or injury. The illness or injury must have been suffered in the line of duty on active duty. It may also have been an injury aggravated by service on the line of duty.
    • A veteran’s injury must meet additional requirements, which you can read at the Department of Labor website.[5]

Requesting Exigency Leave

  1. Get a copy of the military member’s active duty orders. In order to take exigency leave, you need to show that the service member is on covered active duty or has been called to covered active duty status.[6]
    • You need to provide only one copy of active duty orders per deployment.
    • Your employer might contact the Department of Defense to verify that the service member is on covered active duty.
  2. Gather information about the reason for the leave. You should prepare to provide your employer with information and documentation about why you need the leave. For example, you might take leave for any of the following reasons:[7]
    • You might need time off to arrange alternative care for a child or the military member’s parent. For example, you might need to register a child in a new school or daycare or find care for an elderly parent. If so, then write down the names of the agencies you will contact.
    • You can take time off in order to make medical or legal arrangements. For example, you can take exigency leave to prepare financial or medical powers of attorney. In this situation, you should get the name of the lawyer you will meet with, including a contact number.
    • You might take leave to attend military events, such as official military ceremonies, family support programs, or informational briefings. Hold onto any written notice or flyer advertising the event.
    • You can get at least 15 days of exigency leave to spend with a military member on Rest and Recuperation leave. Get paperwork that identifies the dates of the leave.
    • You can use exigency leave to attend counseling, if the counseling is needed to address the service member’s active duty and is provided by someone other than a healthcare provider. Write down the name of the counselor and their contact information.
    • You can also get leave to attend activities up to 90 days after the member’s active duty is terminated. For example, you might need time to attend arrival ceremonies, reintegration briefings, and other programs. Hold onto all communications which advertise these events.
    • You can take exigency leave to address any issue that has arisen because of the service member’s short-notice deployment (notice of seven or fewer days).
  3. Notify your employer that you need leave. As soon as possible, you should tell your employer that you need to take FMLA leave. Don’t just say, “I need time off.” Your boss might not know that you are specifically requesting FMLA leave.
    • After you request the leave, your employer has five business days to check whether you qualify for FMLA leave.[8] For this reason, it is important to be specific that you are requesting FMLA leave when you speak to your employer.
  4. Certify your eligibility, if required. Your employer might request that you “certify” why you need exigency leave. Your boss should provide you with a form to fill out. The form will generally request the following information:[9]
    • a copy of the military member’s active duty orders
    • a statement describing why you qualify for the exigency leave, including written supporting documentation
    • the date when leave is to begin, as well as an estimate of how much time in total you will need
    • contact information for any third party you are meeting with, such as an attorney, school, daycare, etc.
  5. Use your paid leave. Although you aren’t entitled to pay during your FMLA leave, you can use paid leave, such as accrued personal, sick, or vacation time. You must follow your employer’s policies for requesting that time.
    • For example, if your employer requires that you submit a form to request vacation time, then you must follow your company’s policy if you want to use your vacation time during your FMLA leave.[10]
    • Your employer can also require that you use accrued paid leave during your FMLA leave.

Requesting Military Caregiver Leave

  1. Gather medical provider contact information. When you apply for military caregiver leave, your employer might immediately agree to your request. However, some might require “certification.” To prepare for certification, you should gather the following information about the medical provider:[11]
    • contact information for the health care provider
    • information about the provider’s type of medical practice or specialty
    • provider’s affiliation with the military, if any
  2. Notify your employer that you need leave. As soon as possible, you should tell your boss that you need to take FMLA leave. Make sure that you specifically say, “I need to take Family Medical Leave time.” Your boss might not understand that you are requesting FMLA leave unless you say so.
  3. Receive your employer’s determination of your eligibility. Within five business days your employer must notify you whether you are eligible for FMLA leave. If you aren’t eligible, then you can’t request leave; however, you can request leave in the future.[12]
  4. Complete the certification. If you are eligible, then your employer must provide you with your rights and responsibilities under FMLA. Also, your employer can request “certification” that the illness is sufficiently serious to qualify. Your employer should have a form that you and your doctor should fill out. As part of certification, you should provide the following information:[13]
    • contact information for the authorized health care provider who will complete the certification
    • whether the illness or injury occurred or was aggravated by active duty service
    • when the illness or injury began and its expected duration
    • a statement of facts explaining the service member’s health condition and why it supports the need for FMLA leave
    • an estimate for the period and dates of treatment or recovery, including a schedule if care is intermittent
    • your name and your relationship to the service member
    • the service member’s branch, rank, and unit assignment or, if a veteran, the date and type of separation
  5. Use your paid leave. You aren’t entitled to pay during your FMLA leave. However, you can use paid leave, such as accrued personal, sick, or vacation time. You must follow your employer’s policies for requesting that time.[14]
    • For example, if your employer requires that you get written permission to take personal days, then you must get that written permission if you want to use your personal days to get paid during your FMLA leave.
    • Your employer can also require that you use accrued paid leave during your FMLA leave.

Filing a Complaint with the Federal Government

  1. Call the federal government’s Wage and Hour Division. The federal government’s Department of Labor (DOL) administers and enforces the FMLA. If you have questions, then you should 1-866-487-9243. You can call if you think that your FMLA rights have been violated.[15]
  2. Find your nearest office. You can also stop into a DOL office near you. There are more than 200 offices in the nation. To find the nearest, visit the Department of Labor’s website.[16]
    • Click on your state to find your nearest office.
  3. Gather useful information. To smooth the complaint process, make sure that you have the following information handy when you call. You will need this information for your complaint:[17]
    • name of your company
    • company’s location
    • phone number to the company
    • name of a manager or owner
    • circumstances of your request and your employer’s response

References

  1. ↑ http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/2013rule/FMLA_Military_Guide_ENGLISH.pdf
  2. ↑ http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/2013rule/FMLA_Military_Guide_ENGLISH.pdf
  3. ↑ http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/2013rule/FMLA_Military_Guide_ENGLISH.pdf
  4. ↑ http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/2013rule/FMLA_Military_Guide_ENGLISH.pdf
  5. ↑ http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/2013rule/FMLA_Military_Guide_ENGLISH.pdf
  6. ↑ http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/2013rule/FMLA_Military_Guide_ENGLISH.pdf
  7. ↑ http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/2013rule/FMLA_Military_Guide_ENGLISH.pdf
  8. ↑ http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/2013rule/FMLA_Military_Guide_ENGLISH.pdf
  9. ↑ http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs28mc.htm
  10. ↑ http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/2013rule/FMLA_Military_Guide_ENGLISH.pdf
  11. ↑ http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/2013rule/FMLA_Military_Guide_ENGLISH.pdf
  12. ↑ http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/2013rule/FMLA_Military_Guide_ENGLISH.pdf
  13. ↑ http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/2013rule/FMLA_Military_Guide_ENGLISH.pdf
  14. ↑ http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/2013rule/FMLA_Military_Guide_ENGLISH.pdf
  15. ↑ http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/2013rule/FMLA_Military_Guide_ENGLISH.pdf
  16. ↑ http://www.dol.gov/whd/america2.htm
  17. ↑ http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/2013rule/FMLA_Military_Guide_ENGLISH.pdf
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