Q: Who is eligible to take family and medical leave?
A: Anyone, male or female, that worked at least 1,250 hours during the previous 12 months for any company with more than 50 employees. They must meet one of four criteria:

• 1) expecting the birth of a newborn child
• 2) expecting placement of an adopted or foster child
• 3) caring for an immediate family member with a serious health condition
• 4) unable to work because of their own serious health condition

Q: How long is FMLA leave?
A: The maximum amount of time off guaranteed by federal law is 12 weeks of unpaid leave. But many states have additional leave requirements. To find out your individual state's rules, go to ncsl.org/programs/employ/fmlachart.htm.

Q: Does FMLA leave have to be taken all at once?
A: No. Employees can take anywhere from one hour at a time up to the full 12 weeks.

Q: How much notice must a worker give before taking FMLA leave?
A: Federal guidelines recommend that all employees give 30 days advance notice. However, soon after an employee becomes aware of an upcoming leave event, they should alert their employer, in case they need to take leave sooner than expected. If an employee does take an emergency leave, it's recommended that they inform their employer of it within two days of returning to work, at the latest.

Q: How can an employer minimize the impact of a family leave absence beforehand?
A: Develop a strategy to handle the employee's workload long before their leave begins. This might include rearranging deadlines, cross-training co-workers, or even hiring temporary help. This foresight is particularly important when it comes to dealing with employees that take intermittent medical leaves throughout the year because of a chronic health condition.

Q: How do benefits work during an employee's FMLA leave?
A: By federal law, all health benefits must continue throughout the leave (including any premiums paid by the employee) and the time off cannot be counted against an employee as an unscheduled absence. However, vacation time and seniority status typically do not accrue during family leave. (In fact, employers can require that an employee use up all of their available paid sick days and vacation as part of the 12 weeks of leave.) Likewise, employers are not required to give any special dispensation to employees who fail to qualify for performance-related bonuses due to family or medical leave.

Q: What happens if the employee decides not to return to work?
A: A company's obligation to continue health benefits—with the exception of possible COBRA benefits, of course—immediately stops if an employee fails to return to work at the end of their pre-arranged leave or if, while still on leave, they notify their employer that they will not be coming back to work. Therefore, it's a good idea for an employer to touch base with an employee on family leave every few weeks to gauge their intentions on returning.

Q: What's a good way to re-integrate an employee into the workplace after an extended leave?
A: To avoid overwhelming an employee upon their return, you might institute a temporary, "phase-back" plan, which could include shortened workweeks, flex-time scheduling, or even telecommuting. While this can prolong the shortfall in productivity typically associated with an extended leave, the short-term expenses will often pale in comparison to the costs of having to recruit a new hire if an employee returning from leave abruptly resigns.

For more on FMLA regulations, go to dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/whd/1421.htm.