FMLA
Twelve weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave — and the thing people most often get wrong about how it relates to paid leave.
FMLA protects your job. It does not pay you.
The federal Family and Medical Leave Act gives eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period, with group health coverage maintained on the same terms as if you had kept working.
This is the distinction people most often miss: FMLA is protection, MA PFML is pay. They frequently run at the same time, and most people who need one need both.
What FMLA can be used for
- The birth of a child, and to care for a newborn
- Placement of a child with you for adoption or foster care
- To care for a spouse, child or parent with a serious health condition
- Your own serious health condition that prevents you working
- Certain qualifying needs arising from a family member’s military service
Up to 26 weeks is available in a single 12-month period to care for a covered service member.
Federal eligibility requirements
Under federal law, an employee is generally eligible if they:
- Have worked for the employer for at least 12 months
- Have worked at least 1,250 hours in the 12 months before the leave
- Work at a location where the employer has 50 or more employees within 75 miles
These are the federal thresholds. Confirm your own eligibility with the People Team before relying on it.
FMLA, MA PFML and disability together
| FMLA | MA PFML | STD / LTD | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it gives you | Job protection | Wage replacement | Wage replacement |
| Does it pay you? | No — unpaid | Yes | Yes |
| Who provides it | Federal law | Massachusetts, via Equitable | Equitable, employer paid |
| Health coverage continues | Yes, on the same terms | Per plan and policy terms | Per plan and policy terms |
| Can run at the same time as the others | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Start the conversation early
These three programs have different notice requirements, different paperwork, and different people to file with. Where leave is foreseeable — a planned surgery, an expected birth — advance notice is generally required.
Talk to the People Team before you need the leave, not on your first day out.