U.S. Department of Labor implements new FMLA regulations

March 1, 2013 2013 | 5
U.S. Department of Labor implements new FMLA regulations
Rule expands protections for military families and airline employees
Last month, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division released its final regulations implementing two important protection expansions under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The first offers families of eligible veterans the same job-protected FMLA leave currently available to families of military service members, enables more military families to take leave for certain activities while a service member is deployed, and provides military families additional leave time for rest and recuperation. The second modifies the existing rules so that airline personnel and flight crews can make better use of their protections under the FMLA. Resource materials related to the new regulations are available on the DOL website. The regulations take effect March 8, 2013.
We first reported on these FMLA amendments on April 3, 2012, when the DOL invited interested parties to comment on the then-proposed regulations. A number of the comments submitted by Sedgwick’s regulatory best practice team were reviewed and considered by the DOL prior to its release of the final rule. Our comments and the DOL’s analysis of our feedback can be found in the final rule on pages 84, 88, and 126. We are proud to have played a role in this significant legislation and that the DOL considers Sedgwick to be a thought leader in this area.

The Sedgwick absence management team is committed to ensuring that our clients are fully compliant with these regulations by the time they take effect later this month. Based on the information provided by the DOL, we have prepared a list of the substantive changes applicable to the services we offer and the actions we are taking as a result of those changes. That summary is available on our website here.  If you have any questions about the new FMLA regulations, please contact your Sedgwick client services representative.
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