The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a United States labor law that provides job-protected, unpaid leave for employees for qualified medical and family reasons.
If an employee has an event that qualifies for leave under both FMLA and Paid Family Leave, and the employer is covered under both laws, the employer can require them to run concurrently. In order for the two types of leaves to run together, the employer must notify the employee that the leave qualifies for both FMLA and Paid Family Leave, and that it will be designated as such.
How are Paid Family Leave (PFL) and the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) different?
| PFL | FMLA | |
| Benefits | PAID | UNPAID |
| Coverage | · Most private employers · Public employers may opt in · One or more employees | · Public and private employers · 50 or more employees in a 75-mile radius |
| Eligibility | · After 26 consecutive weeks of employment if regularly working 20 or more hours per week · After 175 days worked if regularly working less than 20 hours per week | · 12 months of employment · 1,250 hours of work in the 12-month period preceding leave |
| Reason for Leave | · Employees cannot use for own serious health condition · Can be used to care for a child of any age | · Employee can use for own serious health condition · Can only be used to care for a child if the child is under 18 years old, or “incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability” |
| Length of Leave | · Only in full-day increments | · Hourly basis |
| Paid Time Off | · Employers cannot require employees use paid time off while on PFL | · Employers can compel an employee to use paid time off while on FMLA |