Leave of Absence eligibility

[Guest KathyB]

I am rewriting the Leave of absence policy and am looking for standards regarding the length or service an employee should have to be eligible for a Leave of Absence.

[Guest lmrice]

It depends on what type of leave of absence you're talking about. FMLA (family medical leave) is a federally regulated act that requires employers to grant 12 weeks of unpaid leave to employees (or their deps.) with serious health conditions. Then there are the state laws that can be even more liberal. Check with your state and FMLA before doing anything.

[Guest KathyB]

Actually it is a Leave of Absence policy seperate from FMLA or state disabiltiy. Employees need to be employed for 12 months to be eligble for FMLA. I am inquiring about what is done for those not covered by FMLA due to less than 12 months of serivce.

[Guest Benefits Maven]

A company can always form a policy which exceeds federal and/or state guidelines. You will find that all companies take slightly different angles on this issue, depending on their own benefits philosophy and the needs of their employee population. I have worked for companies that would allow an loa for medical purposes after six months of service and those who went with the federal guidelines of one year. The six-months company would also allow a medical loa to continue beyond the required 12 weeks, but the job protection ended with the end of FMLA. In many positions, in a high turnover environment, there was generally a similar position open when the person was ready to return and it was better than training a new employee. Leaves could not exceed one year, however. Hope that helps.