Employees already eligible for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) with family in the military are entitled to two new forms of FMLA leave benefits -- qualifying exigency (QE) leave and military caregiver leave (MCL). The rules for employer coverage (employing 50 employees within a 75-mile radius) and employee eligibility (they've worked 12 months and 1,250 hours) are the same as for traditional FMLA leave. Of help to employers, the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) November 2008 rules also created a required notice and certification process similar to what applies to traditional FMLA leave.
On the other hand, the military FMLA leave provisions expanded the reasons employees may take leave, which family members are eligible for leave, and for some employees, the length of time they may be absent. For example, to give meaning to the new military provisions, the DOL lifted the age and disability limitations for "son" and "daughter" as they apply to military leave. As with traditional FMLA leave, however, employers may ask an employee for reasonable documentation or, when proof is unavailable, a statement of the family relationship.
