The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has updated its “COVID-19 and the Family and Medical Leave Act Questions and Answers” web page, originally published in 2020. As before, the Q&As explain that—under the FMLA—covered employers must provide eligible employees with job-protected, unpaid leave for specified family and medical reasons. Additionally, employees on FMLA leave are entitled to the continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms that were in effect before they took leave.
Employers must provide employees with the following notices regarding the FMLA:
General Notice
Eligibility Notice
Rights and Responsibilities Notice
Designation Notice
An employee working a “one week on, one week off” schedule who takes 12 workweeks of federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave may be required to return to work 12 weeks later, a federal appeals court has held.
An employer is required to maintain group health coverage for an employee on FMLA leave on the same terms as if the employee had continued to work. An employer may require employees taking FMLA leave to pay their share of health plan premiums, although they cannot be required to pay more than what they would have paid if they had remained actively employed.
On Dec. 29, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published Field Assistance Bulletin 2020-8 to provide enforcement guidance regarding the use of telemedicine when establishing a serious health condition under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
