Family Medical Leave

Policy Update – Oct. 5, 2025

Beginning Oct. 5, 2025, our policy EMP-256 will be updated to reflect industry best practice by using the most common, federally-approved method of calculating an employee’s entitlement period. The FMLA entitlement period is the 12-month window in which an eligible employee can take up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for certain qualifying reasons.

After this policy update, when an employee requests FMLA leave, we will review the employee’s leave history for the previous 12 months to determine how many workweeks of FMLA leave have already been taken. That figure will be used to calculate the workweeks of FMLA leave that remain available. For example, if an employee has taken 4 workweeks of FMLA leave within the past year, they would have 8 workweeks of FMLA leave remaining available for that entitlement period (i.e., 12 workweeks available - 4 workweeks used = 8 workweeks available).

What is NOT changing?

• Length of FMLA: Eligible employees may use up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons within a 12-month period.
• FMLA qualifying events: A variety of life situations (e.g., birth or adoption of a child, extended recovery from surgery, caring for a parent with a serious health condition, etc.) may lead you to utilize FMLA.
• Paid leave usage: As FMLA is unpaid leave, you will still be able to utilize any available and applicable paid time off (e.g., PTO, Prior Sick, etc.) in combination with FMLA.
• Military caregiver leave: This change will not impact FMLA leave to care for a covered service member.

What is changing?

• Calculation of the 12-month entitlement period: Each time an employee takes FMLA leave, we will look at the previous 12 months to see how many of the available 12 workweeks of FMLA leave have already been used and how many remain available.

If you are currently on an active and approved FMLA leave, you do not need to take any action. Our Human Resources Leave Administration team will make any necessary updates and reach out to you directly.