Family Medical Leave Act

Your Rights Under the Family Medical Leave Act

The Family and Medical Leave ACT (FMLA), enacted in 1993, allows eligible employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in a 12 month period. The leave can be taken for the birth, adoption or foster placement of a child, the care of a family member with a serious health condition, or the employee’s own serious health condition.

Additionally, FMLA was expanded and revised, and now includes special provisions for members of the military and their families. The Act was signed into law by President Clinton after nearly ten years of lobbying by labor unions, women’s rights groups and grass roots organizations.

The purpose of FMLA is to enable employees to more easily balance the obligations of work and family.

The FMLA does not diminish provisions in state or local FMLA laws or current CWA collective bargaining agreements which provide more favorable polices, nor does it limit negotiation of greater benefits in the  future.

To find out more about FMLA, click here to download a CWA guide to FMLA.

Click here to download an FMLA request form.

If you have additional questions, contact your Local Staff Representative.