Full question:
My business is a bookkeeping, accounting, tax service; my staff totals six (6) people; myself, four (4) full time and one (1) part-time. My question is with regards to the FMLA federal law. Since I have a small business, will my company be exempt from the Family and Medical Leave of Absence law (including Disability Leave of Absence and Military Leave of Absence)?
- Category: Employment
- Subcategory: FMLA
- Date:
- State: Texas
Answer:
The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) applies to all employers. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal law that protects the rights of people with disabilities by eliminating barriers to their participation in many aspects of working and living in America. In particular, Title I of the ADA prohibits covered employers from discriminating against people with disabilities in the full range of employment-related activities, from recruitment to advancement to pay and benefits. Title I of the ADA applies to employers (including state or local governments) with 15 or more employees and to employment agencies, labor organizations and joint labor-management committees with any number of employees.
The ADA does not specifically require employers to provide medical or disability-related leave. However, it does require employers to make reasonable accommodations for qualified employees with disabilities if necessary to perform essential job functions or to benefit from the same opportunities and rights afforded employees without disabilities. Accommodations can include modifications to work schedules, such as leave. There is no set leave period mandated because accommodations depend on individual circumstances and should generally be granted unless doing so would result in "undue hardship" to the employer.
An employer covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act is any person engaged in commerce or in any industry or activity affecting commerce, who employs 50 or more employees for each working day during each of 20 or more calendar workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal law that requires covered employers to grant an eligible employee up to a total of 12 workweeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period for several reasons including to take medical leave when the employee is unable to work because of a serious health condition. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal law that requires covered employers to grant an eligible employee up to a total of 12 workweeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period for one or more of the following reasons:
-for the birth and care of the newborn child of the employee;
-for placement with the employee of a son or daughter for adoption or foster care;
-to care for an immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent) with a serious health condition; or
-to take medical leave when the employee is unable to work because of a serious health condition.
The term "son or daughter" means a biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward, or a child of a person standing in loco parentis, who is--
under 18 years of age; or
18 years of age or older and incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability.
The term "parent" means the biological parent of an employee or an individual who stood in loco parentis to an employee when the employee was a son or daughter. Persons who are "in loco parentis" include those with day-to-day responsibilities to care for and financially support a child, or, in the case of an employee, who had such responsibility for the employee when the employee was a child. A biological or legal relationship is not necessary.
Financial and legal arrangements are covered under exigencies for leave under the Act.
Please see also:
http://www.dol.gov/vets/programs/userra/USERRA_Federal.pdf
http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/statutes/fmla.htm#SEC_101_DEFINITIONS
http://www.dol.gov/dol/allcfr/Title_29/Part_825/29CFR825.122.htm
http://www.dol.gov/dol/allcfr/Title_29/Part_825/29CFR825.126.htm
This content is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Legal statutes mentioned reflect the law at the time the content was written and may no longer be current. Always verify the latest version of the law before relying on it.
