TDD# 1-800-846-5277
STATE OF
DEPARTMENT OF STATE CIVIL SERVICE
BATON ROUGE,
February 25, 2008
General Circular No. 001722
To: Heads
of State Agencies and Human Resource Directors
Subject: National Defense Authorization Act
expands FMLA protection for employees with family members serving in the Armed
Forces
Issue Date: February
25, 2008
Please be aware that, on January 28,
2008, President Bush signed into law H.R. 4986, the National Defense
Authorization Act for FY 2008 (NDAA). Among other things, section 585 of the
NDAA amends
the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) immediately
to permit a “spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin” to take up to 26
workweeks of leave to care for a “member of the Armed Forces, including a
member of the National Guard or Reserves, who is undergoing medical treatment,
recuperation, or therapy, is otherwise in outpatient status, or is otherwise on
the temporary disability retired list, for a serious injury or illness.”
Additional information and a copy of Title I of the FMLA, as amended, are
available on the federal Department
of Labor Web site.
The NDAA also permits an employee to
take FMLA leave for “any qualifying exigency” (as defined by regulation)
related to a spouse, son, daughter, or parent’s active duty or notice of an
impending call or order to active duty in the Armed Forces. This provision of the NDAA is not effective
until the Secretary of Labor issues final regulations defining “any qualifying
exigency.” However, the DOL encourages
employers to begin granting leave for this purpose using the same premises
already established for the FMLA.
Also, on February 11, 2008, the
federal Department of Labor issued proposed changes to the current FMLA
regulations that would incorporate these new requirements for care of a member
of the Armed Forces as well as other procedural changes. The proposed rules can be found on their web
site at http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla/FedRegNPRM.pdf
. Deadline for submitting comments to
the Department of Labor is April 11, 2008.
Although the Department of Civil
Service does not enforce or interpret federal laws and regulations, various
aspects of the FMLA affect the application of Civil Service rules. Therefore, we wanted to notify agencies of
this change. Questions on how this
expansion may affect Civil Service rule application should be directed to your
Assistance Coordinator at 225-342-8274.
Sincerely,
s/
Director