FMLA Requirements in 2026: What Employers Need to Know

The Family and Medical Leave Act FMLA remains one of the most important federal employment laws that employers need to address in their employee handbooks. Since its passage in 1993, the FMLA has undergone regulatory refinements and court interpretations that shape how employers must administer leave. Here is what you need to know for 2026. ## Who Is Covered by the FMLA? The FMLA applies to private employers with 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius for at least 20 workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year. It also covers all public agencies and public and private elementary and secondary schools regardless of size. To be eligible for FMLA leave, an employee must have worked for the employer for at least 12 months not necessarily consecutive, have logged at least 1,250 hours of service during the 12-month period immediately preceding the leave, and work at a location where the employer has 50 or more employees within 75 miles. ## What Does the FMLA Require? Eligible employees are entitled to up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per 12-month period for the following qualifying reasons: - Birth and bonding with a newborn child - Placement of a child for adoption or foster care - Caring for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition - The employee's own serious health condition that makes them unable to perform their job functions - Qualifying exigencies arising from a spouse, child, or parent being on active military duty or called to active duty Additionally, eligible employees may take up to 26 weeks of leave during a single 12-month period to care for a covered servicemember with a serious injury or illness military caregiver leave. ## Defining the 12-Month Period Employers must choose one of four methods for calculating the 12-month FMLA period and apply it consistently: 1. The calendar year 2. Any fixed 12-month period e.g., fiscal year or anniversary date 3. The 12-month period measured forward from the first date of FMLA leave 4. A rolling 12-month period measured backward from the date the employee uses FMLA leave The rolling method is the most commonly used because it prevents employees from stacking leave at the end and beginning of successive periods. Whatever method you choose, your handbook must clearly state it. ## Employee Notice Requirements When the need for FMLA leave is foreseeable, employees must provide at least 30 days' advance notice. When the need is unforeseeable, employees must notify the employer as soon as practicable, generally the same day or the next business day. Your handbook should describe how employees request FMLA leave, including who to contact and what information to provide. ## Employer Obligations ### Notice and Documentation Within five business days of learning that an employee's leave may qualify under the FMLA, the employer must provide an eligibility notice informing the employee whether they are eligible and a rights and responsibilities notice. Once the employer has enough information to determine whether the leave qualifies, it must issue a designation notice within five business days. ### Maintaining Health Benefits During FMLA leave, employers must maintain the employee's group health insurance coverage on the same terms as if the employee were still working. The employee remains responsible for their share of premiums. ### Job Restoration When an employee returns from FMLA leave, they must be restored to their original job or an equivalent position with equivalent pay, benefits, and working conditions. Limited exceptions exist for "key employees" — salaried employees in the highest-paid 10 percent of the workforce — but the threshold for denying restoration is high. ## Intermittent and Reduced Schedule Leave Employees may take FMLA leave intermittently or on a reduced schedule when medically necessary. This is one of the most operationally challenging aspects of the FMLA. Your handbook should explain how employees request intermittent leave, your procedures for tracking increments of leave the minimum increment cannot exceed the shortest period your payroll system tracks, and the right to temporarily transfer employees to an alternative position that better accommodates intermittent leave. ## Common FMLA Compliance Mistakes Several mistakes consistently land employers in legal trouble: - Failing to count leave as FMLA when it qualifies. If an employee's absence meets FMLA criteria, you should designate it as FMLA leave even if the employee does not specifically request it. - Requiring employees to use the term "FMLA." Employees do not need to mention the FMLA by name. If they communicate enough information for you to determine the leave may qualify, your obligation is triggered. - Retaliating against employees who take leave. Terminating, demoting, or disciplining an employee for exercising FMLA rights is illegal, even if the leave creates operational burdens. - Inadequate recordkeeping. Employers must retain FMLA-related records for at least three years. ## State Leave Laws That Interact with the FMLA More than a dozen states now have paid family and medical leave programs, and many have their own unpaid leave laws with broader coverage than the FMLA. States like California, New York, New Jersey, Washington, Massachusetts, Colorado, and Oregon provide paid leave benefits that run concurrently with or supplement FMLA leave. Your handbook should address how state leave entitlements interact with FMLA leave to avoid confusion. ## What Your Handbook Should Include At minimum, your FMLA policy should cover: - A statement of employee eligibility criteria - The qualifying reasons for leave - The 12-month measurement method your company uses - How to request leave and who to contact - Medical certification requirements - Rules for intermittent leave - Health benefit continuation during leave - Job restoration rights - Anti-retaliation protections ## Staying Current The Department of Labor periodically updates FMLA regulations and guidance. Courts continue to issue decisions that refine employer obligations, particularly around what constitutes a "serious health condition" and what notice is sufficient from employees. Employers should review their FMLA policies annually. Rulewize generates FMLA policies tailored to your company's size, state, and leave programs — ensuring your handbook stays compliant as federal and state leave laws evolve.