New Paternity Leave Under 2009 FMLA

Every employer should be aware of several changes under the 2009 FMLA regulation. These new rules permit employees to take FMLA leave under circumstances that were not previously covered.

 

One of the biggest changes, according to the SHRM or Society of Human Resource Management, is that the husband of a pregnant woman is entitled to FMLA leave for prenatal visits under some circumstances. The FMLA has always permitted men to take “paternity” leave to bond with a newborn or newly adopted infant, or a newly place foster child under the age of 18. And the FMLA regulations always covered a pregnant woman’s prenatal appointments.

 

However, the new 2009 FMLA regulations specifically permit the husband of a pregnant woman to take time off to provide her with physical or psychological care for prenatal visits. The language of the new regulations, however, apparently restricts this leave to the spouse of a woman who has severe morning sickness or other complications. If the woman needs to be driven to the doctor’s appointment, or needs psychological care, the husband is entitled to FMLA leave.

 

This leave is only available for the husband of a pregnant spouse. It is not available to the baby’s father, if he is not married to the mother. It is not available to the woman’s boyfriend or fiancé, even if he is the baby’s father.

 

A little-known provision of the old FMLA regulations that still remains in effect limits the amount of time that a married couple can take under FMLA, if they both work for the same employer. Normally FMLA entitles employees to up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period. The leave may be used when the employee has a serious health condition, to care for an immediate family member with a serious health condition, or for bonding with a newborn child, a newly adopted child, or a newly place foster child. 

 

FMLA is limited to 12 weeks in a 12-month period, for all reasons combined. So a woman who takes 2 weeks off to care for her mother, who has a serious health condition, will only have 10 weeks of FMLA leave available for her pregnancy during the same year. When her husband works for a different company, he is also entitled to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected FMLA during the year.

 

However, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, if both husband and wife work for the same company, they are entitled only to 12 weeks of FMLA leave, combined. The wife may take 12 weeks of FMLA during her pregnancy and after delivery. Or, she can take 6 weeks of FMLA leave and the husband can take 6 weeks of FMLA leave. However, they cannot take more than 12 weeks of FMLA combined, when both husband and wife work for the same employer.

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