Covered employers must inform their employees about the military family leave under the amendment to the Family and Medical Leave Act , and the Dept. of Labor has released a poster employers can use while the department finalizes its rules.

In the meantime, the DOL also issued its proposed rules clarifying many of the ambiguities in the existing regulations and placing additional responsibilities on both employers and employees. The DOL proposes allowing the supplementation of disability payments such as Workers’ Compensation and Temporary Disability Insurance with paid leave; allowing employers to count FMLA absences in perfect attendance and other bonus programs; allowing direct contact between the employer and healthcare provider to clarify or authenticate the medical certification, among other changes. Employers would be required to provide more information to employees on their FMLA rights, leave entitlement, eligibility and the reasons why an employee is not eligible or why the leave is not designated as FMLA.
Employees could be expected to provide notice of need for FMLA leave at least prior to the start of a shift; make a reasonable effort to schedule intermittent leave so as not to disrupt the business; and to provide more information to employers for a determination of applicable leave. The DOL is seeking more public comment on some sections, including how to count increments of unscheduled intermittent leave in shifts that can’t be divided, and whether employees should be required to expressly assert their FMLA rights in certain situations.