Family and Medical Leave Act

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which became law in 1993, requires educational employers, including both public and private colleges and universities, to provide generally unpaid leave for covered faculty and staff to care for their medical needs and those of specified family members. Moreover, insofar as there are no special provisions for institutions of higher learning, they are subject to all of the FMLA's requirements, including those for record keeping, except that special rules apply to instructional employees of K-12 schools who wish to take leave near the end of school terms (29 C.F.R. § 825.600a). The FMLA defines covered employers, including public agencies such as institutions of higher learning, as those engaged in commerce or industry with 50 or more eligible employees ...