Does the FMLA guarantee job protection for military families?
The answer to whether the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) guarantees job protection for military families in Washington is yes. The FMLA is a federal law that requires employers to provide eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for certain qualifying family and medical reasons. This includes leave for members of the military who must tend to their health, or that of a family member, while they are away on active duty. Under the FMLA, employees who take leave to care for a family member in the military must receive job protection and are even eligible for reinstatement to the same or an equivalent position when they return. This means that their leave is unpaid, but their job is still protected. Additionally, the law does provide military families with benefits, such as up to 26 workweeks of leave to care for a family member who has a serious injury or illness that occurred in the line of duty, or to be with them while they are on leave from active duty. Military families are also eligible for 12 weeks of leave for the birth or adoption of a child or for a qualifying exigency related to the military. Overall, the FMLA does guarantee job protection for military families in Washington state. This means that employers must provide eligible employees with unpaid leave, and then when they return, they must still be employed, or be rehired in an equivalent position with the same benefits, pay rates, and other job elements.
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