Department of Labor Announces Proposed Rules Expanding FMLA Leave

Today, the Department of Labor announced that it is issuing a notice of proposed rule-making to implement new statutory amendments to the Family and Medical Leave Act. The provisions specifically address military caregiver leave and airline flight crew employee leave.

The proposed amendments would expand military family leave provisions, as currently, the law only affords coverage to family members of currently serving service members, where the amendments would extend the entitlement of military caregiver leave to up to five years after leaving the military.

The proposed amendments would also incorporate a special eligibility provision for airline flight crew employees to make FMLA benefits more accessible by allowing special calculations to determine the amount of leave used.