Military Caregiver Leave: Key Provisions of the New DOL Regulations

This post will address the key provisions of the DOL's regulations for military caregiver leave.  

General rule

Eligible employees of covered employers are entitled to take up to 26 workweeks of job-protected FMLA leave during a single 12-month period to care for a covered service family member who suffered a serious injury or illness during active military duty.

Key Terms

Eligibility-Military caregiver leave is a form of family leave.  It is leave for a family member to care for an injured covered service member.  It does not grant an injured covered service member leave from work to due to their own serious injury or illness.  Such leave may, however, be protected by the FMLA if it is a serious health condition. 

The DOL did not otherwise change the eligibility rules for purposes of military caregiver leave.  To be eligible, an employee would need to: (1) have been employed at least 12 months; (2) worked at least 1250 hours in the 12-month period preceding leave commencement; and (3) work at a work site where there are at least 50 employees within 75 miles.  

This post will address the key provisions of the DOL's regulations for military caregiver leave.  

General rule

Eligible employees of covered employers are entitled to take up to 26 workweeks of job-protected FMLA leave during a single 12-month period to care for a covered service family member who suffered a serious injury or illness during active military duty.