On October 28, 2009, President Obama signed into law the 2010 National Defense Authorization Act.  This Defense bill includes provisions that expand the FMLA’s exigency and caregiver leave provisions for military families that were recently established in January 2008.

2008 Amendments to FMLA

The January 2008 amendments to the FMLA provided up to 12 weeks of exigency leave for urgent needs related to family members (spouse, child, or parent) due to the call to service of a member of the National Guard or the Reserve.  The January 2008 amendments also provided for up to 26 weeks of unpaid caregiver leave for an employee to care for a family member (spouse, child, parent, or next of kin) who was a member of the armed services, National Guard, or the Reserve, and who was injured while serving on active military duty.

October, 2009 Amendments

The Act just signed by President Obama expands the FMLA’s exigency leave benefits further to include the urgent needs of family members of active duty service members, rather than just Reservists and members of the National Guard.  A qualifying exigency leave results from the service member’s call to service and includes:

• short-notice deployment;
• military events and related activities;
• child care and school activities;
• financial and legal arrangements;
• counseling, rest and recuperation;
• post-deployment activities;
• and any other event the employer and employee agree to be a qualifying exigency. 

The Act also expands the FMLA’s caregiver leave provision to include coverage for veterans who are undergoing medical treatment, recuperation or therapy for serious injury or illness that occurred any time during the five years preceding the date of treatment. 

The new coverage provisions will require employers to modify their FMLA policies to ensure full compliance with the law.