Does anyone know FL flma laws?

JennyLo26 · March 2012

Hello,

I am pregnant with my first. I started a new job a few months ago and will be one month shy of celebrating one-year at my new job. Does anyone know if the fmla act in Florida apply to those who are at their current job for less than one year?

Floridamom224 · March 2012

I *believe* you have to be there for a year...I remember a coworker of mine taking to me about TTC when I was pregnant with DD. I asked her why they were waiting and it was bc they were waiting for her to meet the mark where if she got pregnant she would have the baby after the one year mark.

JennyLo26 · March 2012

Thanks! I figured but I wanted to see if anyone else had heard. I do not want to talk to my employer yet about my pregnancy because I am only 5 weeks but am a little anxious to know if I will be able to take some maternity leave. I have been reveiwing documents and it appears they also offer short term disability and I believe i do qualify for that. Just a little nervous to think that I may not get any mat leave

DBride2006 · March 2012

I may be wrong, but I believe FMLA only requires your employer to protect your job. Just because you aren't covered by it doesn't mean your employer won't hold your job... You may be just fine, even without the protection of the law!

JennyLo26 · March 2012

DBride2006:
I may be wrong, but I believe FMLA only requires your employer to protect your job. Just because you aren't covered by it doesn't mean your employer won't hold your job... You may be just fine, even without the protection of the law!

THIS makes me feel a lot better! And I just realized that I am so exhausted from the day that I spelled fmla wrong above! Yikes.

LeahCK · March 2012

I work under FL laws and at first I believed you didn't have to be at any job a specific amount of time to be covered by FMLA (now your employer does not have to pay you anything) but then I found below the FMLA for FL. I attached the websites and definition of eligible. You can ask for an exception and justify it with the fact that you have no intention of leaving the job so that they won't have to spend the money to train someone else, if you have thought about a game plan for a back up to fulfill your duties while you're out of if you'd like to do flex time after a certain amount of time. With all of that I bet they'd be more flexible. Also, if your co is big and has an HR dept you can call them anonymously and ask them this question and see what you're entitled to.

Here is the link and copy and paste below:

https://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/index.htm

Family and Medical Leave ActOverviewThe FMLA entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave. Eligible employees are entitled to:Twelve workweeks of leave in a 12-month period for:the birth of a child and to care for the newborn child within one year of birth;the placement with the employee of a child for adoption or foster care and to care for the newly placed child within one year of placement;to care for the employee?s spouse, child, or parent who has a serious health condition;a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the essential functions of his or her job;any qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that the employee?s spouse, son, daughter, or parent is a covered military member on ?covered active duty;? orTwenty-six workweeks of leave during a single 12-month period to care for a covered servicemember with a serious injury or illness if the eligible employee is the servicemember?s spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin (military caregiver leave).

https://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/fmlaAmended.htm

TITLE I--GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR LEAVESEC. 101. DEFINITIONS.(1) COMMERCE.--The terms "commerce" and "industry or activity affecting commerce" mean any activity, business, or industry in commerce or in which a labor dispute would hinder or obstruct commerce or the free flow of commerce, and include "commerce" and any "industry affecting commerce", as defined in paragraphs (1) and (3) of section 501 of the Labor Management Relations Act, 1947 (29 U.S.C. 142 (1) and (3)).(2) ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEE.--(A) IN GENERAL.--The term "eligible employee" means an employee who has been employed(i) for at least 12 months by the employer with respect to whom leave is requested under section 102; and(ii) for at least 1,250 hours of service with such employer during the previous 12-month period.

preggersin2011 · March 2012

FLMA is a federal law, that means it doesn't vary state to state. Your employer might have additional coverage that you need to check into. Also disability is what can be different state to state (generally it covers you for 6weeks PP)

ASmallWonder · March 2012

Like someone else said, FMLA, if your company qualifies, is what ensures your employer will hold your job, even if they don't want to. I'm sure lots of companies would agree to that if you're only a month shy and a good employee. We just had it happen here at my job. A woman was about a month shy of her 1 year when she gave birth and she was still approved for leave. Now, if your company has a paid leave program that requires a minimum of 1 year employment, that would be a separate situation. GL

QueSrah · March 2012

preggersin2011:
FLMA is a federal law, that means it doesn't vary state to state. Your employer might have additional coverage that you need to check into. Also disability is what can be different state to state (generally it covers you for 6weeks PP)

There actually are separate state FMLA laws, and they can offer greater benefits than the Federal law. (For example, DC's FMLA law offers 16 weeks of job protection for anyone who works in DC.)

LeahCK · March 2012

QueSrah:
preggersin2011:
FLMA is a federal law, that means it doesn't vary state to state. Your employer might have additional coverage that you need to check into. Also disability is what can be different state to state (generally it covers you for 6weeks PP)

There actually are separate state FMLA laws, and they can offer greater benefits than the Federal law. (For example, DC's FMLA law offers 16 weeks of job protection for anyone who works in DC.)

Yes. FLMA is federal but is applied differently at the state level. So if you go to the website I sent you for the federal department of labor there is a drop down box to select which state you are asking about. There is on general federal law and then each state has their own set of laws that are applied or are applied differently. GL

Luckie519 · March 2012

I live in Florida. When I had DS, I remember reading that you had to be at your job at least a year. Your employer doesn't have to hold you position, they can bring you back to a position that has the same rank and pay and is similar. I know in my case, I was a patrol deputy. I was not promised to go back to my same shift or supervisor. I ended up being reassigned to another area and with a new supervisor, but I was told that I could have gone back as School Resource Officer, Bailiff or even a Civil Deputy.

I think if you are a good employee and dependable, they are going to work with you as much as possible. I know FMLA is 12 weeks, although, we have a friend who works at Merrill Lynch and their company not only gave them 16 weeks off, but also partially paid.

Since DH and I work for the same agency, we have to split our 12 weeks of FMLA. I honestly do not think that is fair. I could understand if we were both in positions of rank or we were the only ones who help our position, but that was far from the case. I feel like maybe if you have to split it, you should maybe get like 16 weeks to share. I am not saying we should both get 12 weeks by an means.

Julia_JJ · March 2012

LeahCK:
QueSrah:
preggersin2011:
FLMA is a federal law, that means it doesn't vary state to state. Your employer might have additional coverage that you need to check into. Also disability is what can be different state to state (generally it covers you for 6weeks PP)

There actually are separate state FMLA laws, and they can offer greater benefits than the Federal law. (For example, DC's FMLA law offers 16 weeks of job protection for anyone who works in DC.)
Yes. FLMA is federal but is applied differently at the state level. So if you go to the website I sent you for the federal department of labor there is a drop down box to select which state you are asking about. There is on general federal law and then each state has their own set of laws that are applied or are applied differently. GL

FMLA is a "baseline" - states may grant additional benefits, but the core FMLA isn't applied differently.

daisy662 · March 2012

Hello!
A lot of the information above is correct and a lot isn't. I work in HR in Florida - so here are some facts:

FMLA is a federal law. Some states have additional benefits up and above FMLA. Florida is not one of them. You are entitled to 12 weeks of unpaid leave where the employer is required to hold your job. This is if you have worked X amount of hours through out the year (I believe it is around 1000 but don't quote me) and have worked for the employer for one year. Also, the employer must have more than 50 employees in order to be required to follow FMLA.

Oftentimes, if you do not fall into the above criteria, employers will abide by the FMLA rules anyway. Also, and this is important for your situation - if you would become eligible for FMLA within the 12 weeks of being on LOA, you could then become eligible.

Another thing to look into - you are also covered under ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) where it may be a reasonable accomodation for your employer to hold your position for the time your Doctor indicates you cannot work due to giving birth. (Typically 6-8 weeks).

Likely, your employer will work with you on some sort of LOA. Hope this helps!

LeahCK · March 2012

LeahCK:
I work under FL laws and at first I believed you didn't have to be at any job a specific amount of time to be covered by FMLA (now your employer does not have to pay you anything) but then I found below the FMLA for FL. I attached the websites and definition of eligible. You can ask for an exception and justify it with the fact that you have no intention of leaving the job so that they won't have to spend the money to train someone else, if you have thought about a game plan for a back up to fulfill your duties while you're out of if you'd like to do flex time after a certain amount of time. With all of that I bet they'd be more flexible. Also, if your co is big and has an HR dept you can call them anonymously and ask them this question and see what you're entitled to.

Here is the link and copy and paste below:
https://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/index.htm
Family and Medical Leave ActOverviewThe FMLA entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave. Eligible employees are entitled to:Twelve workweeks of leave in a 12-month period for:the birth of a child and to care for the newborn child within one year of birth;the placement with the employee of a child for adoption or foster care and to care for the newly placed child within one year of placement;to care for the employee?s spouse, child, or parent who has a serious health condition;a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the essential functions of his or her job;any qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that the employee?s spouse, son, daughter, or parent is a covered military member on ?covered active duty;? orTwenty-six workweeks of leave during a single 12-month period to care for a covered servicemember with a serious injury or illness if the eligible employee is the servicemember?s spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin (military caregiver leave).

https://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/fmlaAmended.htm
TITLE I--GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR LEAVESEC. 101. DEFINITIONS.(1) COMMERCE.--The terms "commerce" and "industry or activity affecting commerce" mean any activity, business, or industry in commerce or in which a labor dispute would hinder or obstruct commerce or the free flow of commerce, and include "commerce" and any "industry affecting commerce", as defined in paragraphs (1) and (3) of section 501 of the Labor Management Relations Act, 1947 (29 U.S.C. 142 (1) and (3)).(2) ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEE.--(A) IN GENERAL.--The term "eligible employee" means an employee who has been employed(i) for at least 12 months by the employer with respect to whom leave is requested under section 102; and(ii) for at least 1,250 hours of service with such employer during the previous 12-month period.

Go to the links above, they are the federal dept. of labor (on that link it asks you to select the state). The hours appear to be 1,250.

JennyLo26 · March 2012

daisy662:
Hello!
A lot of the information above is correct and a lot isn't. I work in HR in Florida - so here are some facts:

FMLA is a federal law. Some states have additional benefits up and above FMLA. Florida is not one of them. You are entitled to 12 weeks of unpaid leave where the employer is required to hold your job. This is if you have worked X amount of hours through out the year (I believe it is around 1000 but don't quote me) and have worked for the employer for one year. Also, the employer must have more than 50 employees in order to be required to follow FMLA.

Oftentimes, if you do not fall into the above criteria, employers will abide by the FMLA rules anyway. Also, and this is important for your situation - if you would become eligible for FMLA within the 12 weeks of being on LOA, you could then become eligible.

Another thing to look into - you are also covered under ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) where it may be a reasonable accomodation for your employer to hold your position for the time your Doctor indicates you cannot work due to giving birth. (Typically 6-8 weeks).

Likely, your employer will work with you on some sort of LOA. Hope this helps!

Absolutely does. Thank you very much!

sunflwra · March 2012

Just to share my experience- B was born one month prior to my qualifying for FMLA with my company. I had already planned on taking 3 months leave and got it ok'd with my boss. I qualified for my company's STD plan for the first 6 weeks and my FMLA coverage started as soon as I hit my qualification date.

You should plan to apply for FMLA and STD (they're often run through the same provider) in your last month or so of pregnancy. When you talk to them about FMLA, let them know that you understand you won't qualify yet when LO is born but want it inacted as soon as you do. You'll initially get a letter that says it's denied but then when you are covered, you'll get a new letter letting you know that you're all good.

As others have said- FMLA is purely job protection, so your company can offer to do that without any FMLA requirements, it's just not required by law that they do so. I think you'll be fine- GL!

Want a personalized experience?

Does anyone know FL flma laws?

Re: Does anyone know FL flma laws?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards