Are there new FMLA leave entitlements for military families?
Yes. On January 28, 2008, President Bush signed into law a bill that provides new FMLA leave entitlements to military families. Section 585(a) of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2008 (NDAA), Public Law 110-181, amended the FMLA to provide eligible employees of covered employers with 26 weeks of FMLA leave in a single 12-month period to care for a member of the Armed Forces who is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy, is otherwise in outpatient status, or is otherwise on the temporary disability retired list, for a serious injury or illness incurred in the line of duty on active duty. The NDAA also amended the FMLA to allow eligible employees of covered employers to take FMLA leave because of any qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that a covered family member is on active duty or has been notified of an impending call to active duty status in support of a contingency operation.
