Labor & Employment Law Update

Most employers with 50+ employees are aware that under the federal FMLA, eligible employees may, for qualifying reasons, take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave during a 12-month period. Employers are also aware that employees can, under certain circumstances, take this leave on an “intermittent” or “reduced schedule” basis. For instance, an eligible employee might work four rather than eight hours per day for many weeks or months for FMLA-qualifying reasons. In those cases, an employer might believe that since 12 weeks multiplied by 40 hours per week equals 480 hours, the maximum amount of FMLA leave any employee can take in a 12-month period is 480 hours.