August 2025 Newsletter
Family Members and the Family Medical Leave Act
When an employee’s family member suffers from a serious medical condition, can your employee take time off work to care for this family member? What if the employee does not have any vacation or sick time available? The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) may provide these answers, provided the employee is eligible for FMLA leave and works for a covered employer.
Which family members are covered?
The FMLA allows an eligible employee to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave during a 12-month period to care for certain family members. Covered family members generally include spouses, children (adopted, biological, foster, stepchildren, or the child of a person acting in loco parentis), and parents (adoptive, biological, foster parent, or any person who stood in loco parentis). Note this list generally does not include cousins, godparents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, or other relatives.
What is the ‘needed to care for standard’ and why does it matter?
Assuming all the other eligibility requirements are met, an employee may be required to take additional steps. For example, an employer may request the employee provide certification from their health care provider. In most cases, the certification will need to state that the eligible employee is ‘needed to care for’ the spouse/child/parent, as well as how long the care will be needed. This standard can apply to both physical and mental care. Conditions that generally will not apply are common colds, cosmetic treatments, earaches, headaches other than migraines, and routine dental issues.
What is in loco parentis?
Family is not solely defined by biology. For example, children are sometimes raised by someone who isn’t their biological or adoptive parents. These situations can be covered by the FMLA, if the person raising the child stood in loco parentis. This means the person had the day-to-day responsibilities to care for or financially support the child. Examples may include: a grandmother seeks leave to care for a grandchild for whom she has assumed ongoing responsibility for raising, and an uncle taking leave to care for a nephew after the death of the child’s parents. Just the same, when the children describe above enter the workforce, they may be able to take FMLA leave to care the individuals who stood in loco parentis for them.