In HR Dive’s Mailbag series, we answer HR professionals’ questions about all things work. Have a question? Send it to [email protected].
Q: How does FMLA compliance intersect with the emerging patchwork of state and local laws?
This question is one many U.S. employers are considering, according to employment law attorneys, as leave laws extending the provisions laid out in the Family and Medical Leave Act pop up across the country.
Delaware, for example, enacted the Healthy Delaware Families Act in May, a law that provides paid parental, family caregiving and medical leave effective January 2025.
Legislators are creating laws like this one to fill certain gaps the FMLA leaves exposed, according to Alexandra Barnett, partner in Alston & Bird’s labor and employment group. Enacted in 1993, the FMLA provides unpaid, job-protected leave to certain employees of certain employers.
“FMLA leave is not available, however, if an employee does not meet the eligibility requirements or if the employer is not covered by the FMLA,” Barnett told HR Dive in an email interview. “To fill these voids and in the absence of paid family and medical leave provided at the federal level, some states and municipalities have enacted paid family and medical leave laws.”
These laws also enable employees to take paid leave — as opposed to the FMLA’s unpaid leave — in several circumstances where the FMLA would forbid it. The laws may extend to employers that do not provide leave as a...
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