Emergency Leave Procedures

In the United States, emergency leave procedures are administered under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave entitlements to employees. In 2008, military family leave benefits were added. FMLA guarantees that you can return to your same or similar position with equivalent salary, benefits and other terms of your employment in place prior to your FMLA leave. Employers have the right to set their own guidelines on emergency leaves of absence not covered under FMLA (see Reference 1).

FMLA Eligibility

• According to the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, you are eligible if you have been employed by a company for at least 12 months, have worked at least 1,250 hours during your 12 months, and are employed with a company that has at least 50 employees (see Reference 1). All private and public employers with 50 or more employees are required to extend FMLA leave entitlement to employees. FMLA leave can be used for the birth, adoption or foster care of a child; to care for a spouse, parent or child with a severe health condition; to obtain care for your own medical condition; and to care for a parent, spouse or child injured in the line of duty. Severe health conditions are those that require inpatient care, 3 or more days of absence and treatment, pregnancy or prenatal care, treatment of chronic conditions, permanent long-term illnesses requiring treatment, and multiple treatments of non-chronic disorders (see Reference 1).

Military Leave

• The National Defense Authorization Act amends FMLA to allow family members designated as caregivers of service members who incur severe injury or illness in the line of duty to be eligible for up to 26 weeks of unpaid leave in a 12-month period. Service members are defined as members of the Armed Forces, including those serving in the National Guard or Reserves.
  According to the U.S. Department of Labor, military emergency leave entitlements also allow you to take a 12-week, unpaid leave for any "qualifying exigency" in connection with the fact that your parent, child, spouse or next of kin is on active duty (see Reference 3). Qualifying exigencies are defined as those situations that involve (1) handling issues related to a short-notice deployment, (2) attending military activities, (3) arranging for alternate childcare as a result of the call to duty, (4) addressing legal and personal matters, (5) attending counseling sessions, and (6) attending post-deployment events (see Reference 3).

Employer Notification

• According to "The Nuts and Bolts of FMLA," an article written by Wayne University, employers cannot deny a qualified employee FMLA entitlements if a reasonable notice---1 to 2 business days---was given prior to the request for an emergency or unforeseen absence (see Reference 2). However, planned absences require a 30-day notice to your employer. Employees are required to provide their employers with medical documentation and complete all necessary forms. For military leave requests, employees are required to provide any necessary information that confirms the illness, injury or deployment of a qualified service member and the employee's relationship to that service member (see Reference 2).