Takeaway: This case illustrates that an employee may be eligible for FMLA leave to care for an adult sibling or other adult dependents when the employee demonstrates the intention to serve as a parent. Therefore, managers and leave administrators should be aware that employees’ requests to care for adult siblings and other dependents should not be rejected without further confirmation—consistent with the FMLA’s certification requirements—of the status of the relationship. Similarly, employers should be aware of and comply with more expansive state and local leave laws. For example, the New Jersey Family Leave Act provides unpaid leave to care for “family members,” defined more broadly to also include a parent-in-law, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, domestic partner, or civil union partner, among other relationships.
An employee can stand “in loco parentis” to, and take Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) time off in order to care for, an adult sibling when the employee assumes obligations of a parental nature with the intention of serving as a parent, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled.
In June 2019, the plaintiff used her allotted paid time off to take care of her adult sister who was battling terminal cancer. This care involved attending to her sister’s medical needs, cooking her meals, helping her use the bathroom, brushing her hair and teeth, and taking care of her apartment. She also provided financial support for her sister. The plaintiff divided these...
Akon made headlines last week over claims that his Akon City project had been abandoned by the Senegalese government. Speaking with Philadelphia media personality Mina Saywhat on the Minas' House ...