Job-Protected Leave

Job-protected time off from work helps people balance work demands with the need to take care of themselves and family members. This can be critical in times of illness. Policymakers at the federal and state levels have addressed this issue in various ways.

The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides for 12 weeks of unpaid leave. FMLA allows eligible workers to take leave to address their own serious medical conditions; care for their spouse, child, or parent with a serious medical condition; or bond with a newborn child or newly placed adopted or foster child. Employers are required to maintain their workers’ health insurance while they are on leave on the same terms as during active employment. Employers must also have the same, or a substantially similar, job available on the employee’s return to work.

Many workers are not covered by FMLA. They include those who work for employers with fewer than 50 employees, those who have worked for their employer for less than 12 months, and workers caring for individuals outside their immediate family, such as siblings, in-laws, and grandparents. Those who cannot afford to take unpaid leave also cannot take advantage of FMLA.

Several states have enacted laws that expand FMLA. These include broader, more generous unpaid leave protections, mandatory paid family and medical leave programs, or both. Paid family and medical leave programs allow for partially or fully compensated long-term leaves of absence. Employees can take leave for the same reasons as under FMLA. However, state programs generally apply to more workers. Paid family and medical leave programs are usually funded through payroll contributions, often from both the employer and the employee.  

Employers also may offer paid sick leave. This is for short-term absences, is accrued over time, and can be taken hourly or intermittently. Employees may use it to care for sick family members, deal with a short-term personal illness, or seek preventive care. There are no federal requirements for paid sick leave.