The Family and Medical Leave Act Essay Example-Solution

Introduction to Final Paper

This course has a Final Paper which is worth 200 points (25%) of your final grade. Choose a course topic that interests you and prepare a 5-7 page paper on this topic(The Family and Medical Leave Act Essay Example). The paper should be written in accordance to APA formatting standards and should include a cover page and a reference page (in addition to the 5-7 pages of content). A minimum of three (3) resources should be used in addition to your text. The paper is due on Sunday of Week 4.(The Family and Medical Leave Act Essay Example)

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Guidelines

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The Family and Medical Leave Act Essay Example

The U.S Congress enacted the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) in 1993 to make it easier for employees to integrate family responsibilities and work directed toward boosting economic security and family stability. Congress Amended the FMLA in 2008 to add more leave claims for military exigencies and for the relatives to take care of military service men injured in the line of duty. In 2009, the U.S. Department of Labour clarified and revised the FMLA, while Congress added more military leave amendments in 2010(The Family and Medical Leave Act Essay Example). Notably, the FMLA underwent numerous change amendments to improve work efficiency, mitigate gender-based employment discrimination to offer equal employment rights opportunities for men and women. This paper aims to discuss the Family and Medical Leave Act and its financial implications in health care.(The Family and Medical Leave Act Essay Example)

What is the FMLA?

            The Family and Medical Leave Act (FLMA) guarantees employees a maximum of 12 weeks of unpaid job-protected leave per 12-month period (Magudia, 2021). The Federal government that governs the FMLA asserts that the leave can be utilized for the employees’ health conditions or for taking care of family members. The law further requires that the health benefits of the group of employees that are allowed to take the leave should be maintained. In this case, employers should approve employees’ leave requests based on the amount of care the employees will provide to their family members. If the employees’ companies offer leaves outside the requirements of the law, they will do as much as possible to apply the state law guidelines to keep the policy consistent.(The Family and Medical Leave Act Essay Example)

Notably, most companies stick to the 12weeks of unpaid job-protected leave limit, although they can offer more. For instance, if an employee’s family member is expected to survive past the 12 weeks of leave, the employee should discuss with their H.R. representative the available options after the leave becomes exhausted. Typically, the FMLA aims to protect one’s employment while on leave. Therefore, an individual’s job or one that is equivalent will be available after the leave is exhausted. The leave should not be paid to any degree. In this case, the employees can balance their family duties and work by taking reasonable unpaid leaves for medical and familial purposes. Thus, the FMLA accommodates the valid interest of the employees and the employers.(The Family and Medical Leave Act Essay Example)

Family and Medical Leave Eligibility

            The first stage towards determining employees’ entitlement to the protections and benefits of the FMLA is to evaluate whether they are eligible for the FMLA leave. Significantly, the eligibility requirements are the same for all employees regardless of the reasons for the FMLA leave. Four criteria are used to determine an employee’s eligibility in this case. First, the employee must be working for a covered employer. Secondly, the employees should have a worker for the employer for at least 12 months up to the due date the FMLA leave is scheduled to start. Of importance, eligible employees should have provided their services for at least 1250 hours during the 12 months immediately before the FMLA leave due date (USDOL, 2021). Notably, different service hours apply to airline employees who have to work for at least 504 hours prior to the leave. Finally, eligible employees must work on-site with not less than 50 workmates employed by the same employer within 75 miles just before the date the employee requests for leave.(The Family and Medical Leave Act Essay Example)

The FMLA applies to all companies and public agencies with 50 or more employees. Notably, employees are eligible for 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year. For instance, an employee is eligible for the leave for pregnancy or birth of a daughter or a son and to take care of the newborn within a year(The Family and Medical Leave Act Essay Example). Secondly, an employee is eligible for the adoption or foster care of a daughter or son and to care for the newly adopted child within one year of the foster care. Employees are eligible if they suffer from a serious health condition that deters them from performing work duties. Others are eligible to care for a spouse or family member who has a detrimental health condition and any arising exigencies from the reason that the employee’s spouse, son, or family member is a military service person on a covered active duty.(The Family and Medical Leave Act Essay Example)

FMLA for Employees’ Serious Health Conditions

The FMLA guarantees employees to take leave after suffering from serious health conditions. However, immense disputes arise concerning what serious health conditions constitute. For that reason, the U.S. Department of Labour regulations that govern the FMLA defines a serious health condition and follows up to determine to illustrate the regulations’ applications. U.S. Department of Labor defines a serious health condition as an injury, illness, physical or mental impairment that hinders an employee from working or receiving care for over a night in inpatient facilities, a condition that hinders one to work for full calendar days, incapacity due to pregnancy, and chronic illness. Also, conditions that require multiple treatments may qualify as serious health conditions. Treatments such as chemotherapy and dialysis can result in incapacitation for three consecutive days, informing unpaid leave. Suppose an employee has an illness that does not qualify as a serious health condition under FMLA. In that case, one should check the institution’s sick-leave policies to determine any applicability for bargaining that may still offer one a paid or unpaid leave.(The Family and Medical Leave Act Essay Example)

FMLA for Pregnancy or Child Birth

            FMLA offers covered employees leave for the birth of a child for different reasons. For instance, a biological mother is eligible for an FMLA leave for prenatal care that may be necessary in cases where pregnancy-related complications that qualify as serious health conditions arise (Saranna & Kathi, 2018). A spouse is eligible for an FMLA leave to take care pregnant wife who has serious health complications during and after the pregnancy(The Family and Medical Leave Act Essay Example). Also, men and women are eligible for leave to take care of and bond with the newly born child. Notably, pregnant women who work full-time can request a reduced schedule or take a continuous or intermittent FMLA to leave for prenatal care. FMLA parental benefits recognize different familial relationships. In this case, a parent may be a biological parent, foster parent, stepparent, legal guardian, or any person that stands in locos parents to the child (for instance, an aunt, grandmother, or an uncle).(The Family and Medical Leave Act Essay Example)

Subsequently, parents can utilize the FMLA leave to take care of a healthy newly born baby or take care of a child born with a serious health condition. Covered employees are entitled to take continuous FMLA leaves to bond with a newborn. However, if the employees want an Intermittent FMLA leave or reduced schedules to be with a newly born child, they should seek approval from their employees. Most importantly, the leave to care for a child born with a serious health condition has similar regulations to the taking care of any covered immediate family members with serious conditions.(The Family and Medical Leave Act Essay Example)

FMLA Leave for Foster Care Placement or Adoption of a Child

            Covered employees are eligible for an FMLA leave to place a child in foster care or adoption. Thus, eligible employees should take leave before the actual adoption of the placement date. Notably, employees are allowed to be absent from work during the entire process that entails court appearances, home inspections, and attorneys’ consultations. The FMLA guarantees employees a leave whether they adopt a child through private or licensing agencies and covers both international and domestic adoption. Notably, FMLA leaves for foster placement or adoption of a healthy child should conclude just a date after 12 months.(The Family and Medical Leave Act Essay Example)

FMLA Leave for Family Member with a Serious Health Condition

            The FMLA allows employees to go on leave to take care of family members with serious health conditions, as mentioned earlier. Therefore, employees go for leave to take care of spouses, adopted/foster/biological children aged less than 18 years, and biological children aged 18 years and above but are incapable of self-care from disability and parents. Parent in-laws are not included as immediate family members. Also, a legal guardian can take a leave to take care of a child. However, different states have different definitions of family members. If a family member is ailing for conditions that do not qualify as per the FMLA regulations, employees should consult their institutions’ sick-leave policies.(The Family and Medical Leave Act Essay Example)

FMLA Financial Implications on Healthcare

            Essentially, employees with group insurance are entitled to continued group health insurance coverage with similar terms and conditions as if they had continued to work during the FMLA leaves (U.S. Department of Labour, 2022). For instance, if the employees had family members’ coverage, the coverage should be maintained during the leave. In this case, the employees must continue making monthly contributions to cater to the health insurance premium costs.(The Family and Medical Leave Act Essay Example)

Secondly, if the paid leave is substituted with the FMLA leave, the group health plan premiums of the employees must be paid through payroll deduction. On the contrary, employees on unpaid FMLA leaves should pay the normal insurance premiums of the employees to maintain their health insurance coverage(The Family and Medical Leave Act Essay Example). The employees’ coverage will be dropped if they are 30 days late in paying the premiums unless the employers have a grace period policy. However, employers must write to employees stating they have not paid the premiums and wait for 15 days before dropping the coverage. Some employers pay the employees’ premiums to ensure they enjoy similar benefits upon return from the leave. However, the employers may require the employees to repay the amounts when they fail to return to work.(The Family and Medical Leave Act Essay Example)

Conclusion

This paper has discussed the Family and Medical Leave Act and featured its financial implications in health care. Congress enacted the FMLA in 1993 to make it easier for employees to integrate family responsibilities and work directed toward boosting economic security and family stability. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FLMA) guarantees various employees a maximum of 12 weeks of unpaid job-protected leave per 12-month period(The Family and Medical Leave Act Essay Example). Eligible employees should have provided their services at least 1250 hours during the 12 months immediately before the FMLA leave due date. An employee is eligible the leave for the birth or adoption or foster care of a daughter or son and to care for the newly adopted child within one year of the foster care. Employees are also eligible if they suffer from a serious health condition that deters them from performing work duties. Others are eligible to care for a spouse or family member who has a detrimental health condition and any arising exigencies from the reason that the employee’s spouse, son, or family member is a military service person on a covered active duty. Employees with group insurance are entitled to continued group health insurance coverage with similar terms and conditions as if they had continued to work during the FMLA leaves. For instance, if the employees had family members’ coverage, the coverage should be maintained during the leave.(The Family and Medical Leave Act Essay Example)

References

Magudia, K., Ng, T. S., Campbell, S. R., Balthazar, P., Dibble, E. H., Hassanzadeh, C. J., … & Arleo, E. K. (2021). Family and medical leave for diagnostic radiology, interventional radiology, and radiation oncology residents in the United States: a policy opportunity. Radiology, 300(1), 31-35.

Saranna, R. & Kathi, S. (2018). THE FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. Retrieved from https://www.aaup.org/sites/default/files/files/FMLAguidebook.pdf

U.S. Department of Labour (USDOL). (2022). Fact Sheet #28A: Employee Protections under the Family and Medical Leave Act. Retrieved from https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/28a-fmla-employee-protections

USDOL. (2021) “Fact Sheet #28: The Family and Medical Leave Act.” U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division. https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/legacy/files/whdfs28.pdf