7/28/2019 After DOMA: Family and Medical Leave Act for Non-Federal Employees

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Tis series of fact sheets produced together by:

American Civil Liberties Union | Center for American Progress | Family Equality Council | Freedom to Marry | Gay & Lesbian Advocates & DefendersHuman Rights Campaign | Immigration Equality | Lambda Legal | National Center for Lesbian Rights | National Gay and Lesbian Task Force | OutServe-SLDN.

FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACTFOR NON-FEDERAL EMPLOYEES

Te Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides important protections or eligibleworkers. It allows them to take up to 12 weeks o unpaid leave in a 12-month period

to care or a spouse with a serious medical condition, or 26 weeks to care or an eligibleservicemember spouse with a serious injury or illness. It also allows an employee to take

job-protected leave or the birth or adoption o a child or to care or a child who haa serious health condition, regardless o whether the child is biologically related to theemployee. At the end o the FMLA leave, workers are entitled to resume their same or anequivalent job.

Tis guidance addresses the rights that non-ederal employees and their same-sex spousesshould expect to receive under the FLMA now that the Deense o Marriage Act (DOMA)has been struck down. Rules or ederal employees dier slightly. See the guidance sectionon Federal Employees or inormation specic to employees o the ederal government

You may also have additional rights under state law. For more inormation, consult with alawyer who specializes in employment law about rights you may have in your state.

Who qualifes or FMLA leave?

Any employee who has worked or a covered employer at least 1,250 hours during the12-month period beore the start o the leave is eligible or FMLA leave, so long as theemployee has worked or a covered employer or at least a year.

Which employers are covered by the FMLA?

Te FMLA covers:

Public employers, including state, local or ederal government, or a public school. Sethe guidance or Federal Employees or more inormation specic to FMLA coverageor ederal civilian employees.

Private sector employers with 50 or more employees working or at least 20 workweeks

(within a 75-mile radius o ther worksite, i the employer has more than one worksitein the current or preceding calendar year.

How does being married matter or FMLA leave?

Te FMLA allows eligible employees o covered employers to take unpaid leave to care ora spouse who has a serious health condition. Tere are additional and sometimes expandedleave rights or spouses o current and ormer servicemembers.

Keep in Mind:

Te Supreme Courts ruling in Windsor applies only to the ederalgovernment. It does not change discriminatory state laws excludingsame-sex couples rom state-conerred marriage rights.

Te ruling striking down DOMA will not be eective until 25 days

rom the decision. Even when eective, ederal agencieslargebureaucraciesmay need and take some time to change orms,implement procedures, train personnel, and efciently incorporatesame-sex couples into the spousal-based system.

Until same-sex couples can marry in every state in the nation, therewill be uncertainty about the extent to which same-sex spouses willreceive ederal marital-based protections nationwide. For ederalprograms that assess marital status based on the law o a state thatdoes not respect marriages o same-sex couples, those state laws

will likely pose obstacles or legally married couples and survivingspouses in accessing ederal protections and responsibilities.

Securing air access to ederal protections that come with marriageor all same-sex couples in the nation will take some time and work.In some situations, it may require Congressional action or ormalrule-making by agencies.

Beore making a decision, it is essential that you consult an attorneyor individualized legal advice. Tis is particularly important orpeople who are on certain public benets, as getting married may

jeopardize your eligibility without providing you the ull measureo protections other married couples enjoy. In addition, couples

who travel to another place to marry and then return to live in astate that does not respect their marriage may be unairly unableto obtain a divorce, which can lead to serious negative legal andnancial consequences. People must make careul decisions whenand where to marry, even as we work together to end this injustice.

We are committed to winning universal access to ederal maritalprotections or married same-sex couples through ongoing publicpolicy advocacy, and, where necessary, strategic litigation. Contactour organizations i you have questions, or updates and to learnmore about what you can do to achieve ull equality or those whoare LGB.

Tis Guidance is intended to provide general inormation regardingmajor areas o ederal marriage-based rights and protections based onhow the various ederal agencies have administered ederal benets. Itshould not be construed as legal advice or a legal opinion on anyspecifc acts or circumstances, and does not create an attorney-client

relationship. Past practice is no guarantee o uture developments.While laws and legal procedure are subject to requent change anddiering interpretations in the ordinary course, this is even more truenow as the ederal government dismantles DOMA and extends ederalprotections to same-sex couples. None o the organizations publishingthis inormation can ensure the inormation is current or be responsibleor any use to which it is put.

No tax advice is intended, and nothing therein should be used, andcannot be used, or the purpose o avoiding penalties under the InternalRevenue Code.

Contact a qualied attorney in your state or legal advice about yourparticular situation.

The Supreme Court victory in United States v. Windsorstriking down the discriminatory ederal Deense o Marriage Act (DOMA) afrms that alloving and committed couples who are married deserve equal legal respect and treatment rom the ederal government. The demise o DOMAmarks a turning point in how the United States government treats the relationships o married same-sex couples or ederal programs that are linkedto being married. At the same time, a turning point is part o a longer journey, not the end o the road. There is much work ahead beore same-sexcouples living across the nation can enjoy all the same protections as their dierent-sex counterparts.

7/28/2019 After DOMA: Family and Medical Leave Act for Non-Federal Employees

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