Leave
Leave
FMLA and Paid Family/Medical Programs
Employer and employee coverage, twelve-month and hours tests, fifty-within-seventy-five-mile rule, qualifying reasons, twelve unpaid weeks, notice, certification, designation, substitution, maintenance, restoration, state paid leave, records, and review.
Structured Visual
Jurisdiction: US; as of 2026-08-28; not legal advice; Render structure, refuse interpretation, cite, abstain, and hand off.
RENDER STRUCTURE · REFUSE INTERPRETATION · CITE · ABSTAIN · HAND-OFF: render structure, refuse interpretation, cite provenance, abstain when unsupported, and hand off to human review.
Scope and honesty note
Jurisdiction: United States federal employment-law overview with Texas program records used where pinned; as of 2026-08-29. Coverage, worker status, workplaces, jurisdictions, facts, bargaining agreements, remedies, deadlines, benefits, leave, accommodations, safety, compensation and unemployment programs vary. Synthetic facts are classroom inputs, not legal, employment, wage, discrimination, accommodation, leave, safety, benefits, claim, appeal or strategy advice. The model cannot classify a real worker, calculate wages owed, determine protected status, liability, accommodation, leave, injury coverage, benefit eligibility, fraud, overpayment, privacy rights, discipline, discharge or outcome. Cite, expose gaps, abstain, and hand off.
See the essential structure first
Start with this deliberately incomplete structure, then use the pinned authorities, worked application, exceptions, and handoff below. This deliberately incomplete preview has 4 nodes; exceptions and legal consequences remain in the sourced prose below.
Jurisdiction: US; as of 2026-08-28; not legal advice; Render structure, refuse interpretation, cite, abstain, and hand off.
RENDER STRUCTURE · REFUSE INTERPRETATION · CITE · ABSTAIN · HAND-OFF: render structure, refuse interpretation, cite provenance, abstain when unsupported, and hand off to human review.
Begin with employment doctrine
The FMLA generally provides an eligible employee up to twelve workweeks of unpaid leave during a twelve-month period for the listed family, medical, placement and qualifying-exigency reasons, with a separate military-caregiver entitlement. Eligibility requires the statutory employer and employee predicates, including twelve months of employment, one thousand two hundred fifty hours in the preceding twelve months, and the fifty-employees-within-seventy-five-miles worksite rule. Leave can be unpaid while paid leave is substituted under governing rules. ADA accommodation, workers' compensation, employer policies and state paid-leave programs are separate systems that may overlap but do not share eligibility automatically.
FMLA definitions and eligibility
The statute pins the twelve-month service, one-thousand-two-hundred-fifty-hour, and fifty-employees-within-seventy-five-miles employee-eligibility structure. Verbatim source text: “§2611. Definitions As used in this subchapter: (1) Commerce The terms "commerce" and "industry or activity affecting commerce" mean any activity, business, or industry in commerce or in which a labor dispute would hinder or obstruct commerce or the free flow of commerce, and include "commerce" and any "industry affecting commerce", as defined in paragraphs (1) and (3) of section 142 of this title. (2) Eligible employee (A) In general The term "eligible employee" means an employee who has been employed- (i) for at least 12 months by the employer with respect to whom leave is requested under section 2612 of this title; and (ii) for at least 1,250 hours of service with such employer during the previous 12-month period. (B) Exclusions The term "eligible employee" does not include- (i) any Federal officer or employee covered under subchapter V of chapter 63 of title 5; or (ii) any employee of an employer who is employed at a worksite at which such employer employs less than 50 employees if the total number of employees employed by that employer within 75 miles of that worksite is less than 50. (C) Determination For purposes of determining whether an employee meets the hours of service requirement specified in subparagraph (A)(ii), the legal standards established under section 207 of this title shall apply. (D) Airline flight crews (i) Determination For purposes of determining whether an employee who is a flight attendant or flight crewmember (as such terms are defined in regulations of the Federal Aviation Administration) meets the hours of service requirement specified in subparagraph (A)(ii), the employee will be considered to meet the requirement if- (I) the employee has worked or been paid for not less than 60 percent of the applicable total monthly guarantee, or the equivalent, for the previous 12-month period, for or by the employer with respect to whom leave is requested under section 2612 of this title; and (II) the employee has worked or been paid for not less than 504 hours (not counting personal commute time or time spent on vacation leave or medical or sick leave) during the previous 12-month period, for or by that employer. (ii) File Each employer of an employee described in clause (i) shall maintain on file with the Secretary (in accordance with such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe) containing information specifying the applicable monthly guarantee with respect to each category of employee to which such guarantee applies. (iii) Definition In this subparagraph, the term "applicable monthly guarantee" means- (I) for an employee described in clause (i) other than an employee on reserve status, the minimum number of hours for which an employer has agreed to schedule such employee for any given month; and (II) for an employee described in clause (i) who is on reserve status, the number of hours for which an employer has agreed to pay such employee on reserve status for any given month, as established in the applicable collective bargaining agreement or, if none exists, in the employer's policies. (E) GAO employees In the case of an employee of the Government Accountability Office, the requirements of subparagraph (A) shall not apply with respect to leave under section 2612(a)(1)(A) or (B) of this title. (3) Employ; employee; State The terms "employ", "employee", and "State" have the same meanings given such terms in subsections (c), (e), and (g) of section 203 of this title. (4) Employer (A) In general The term "employer"- (i) means any person engaged in commerce or in any industry or activity affecting commerce who employs 50 or more employees for each working day during each of 20 or more calendar workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year; (ii) includes- (I) any person who acts, directly or indirectly, in the interest of an employer to any of the employees of such employer; and (II) any successor in interest of an employer; (iii) includes any "public agency", as defined in section 203(x) of this title; and (iv) includes the Government Accountability Office and the Library of Congress. (B) Public agency For purposes of subparagraph (A)(iii), a public agency shall be considered to be a person engaged in commerce or in an industry or activity affecting commerce. (5) Employment benefits The term "employment benefits" means all benefits provided or made available to employees by an employer, including group life insurance, health insurance, disability insurance, sick leave, annual leave, educational benefits, and pensions, regardless of whether such benefits are provided by a practice or written policy of an employer or through an "employee benefit plan", as defined in section 1002(3) of this title. (6) Health care provider The term "health care provider" means- (A) a doctor of medicine or osteopathy who is authorized to practice medicine or surgery (as appropriate) by the State in which the doctor practices; or (B) any other person determined by the Secretary to be capable of providing health care services. (7) Parent The term "parent" means the biological parent of an employee or an individual who stood in loco parentis to an employee when the employee was a son or daughter. (8) Person The term "person" has the same meaning given such term in section 203(a) of this title. (9) Reduced leave schedule The term "reduced leave schedule" means a leave schedule that reduces the usual number of hours per workweek, or hours per workday, of an employee. (10) Secretary The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Labor. (11) Serious health condition The term "serious health condition" means an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves- (A) inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential medical care facility; or (B) continuing treatment by a health care provider. (12) Son or daughter The term "son or daughter" means a biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward, or a child of a person standing in loco parentis, who is- (A) under 18 years of age; or (B) 18 years of age or older and incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability. (13) Spouse The term "spouse" means a husband or wife, as the case may be. (14) Covered active duty The term "covered active duty" means- (A) in the case of a member of a regular component of the Armed Forces, duty during the deployment of the member with the Armed Forces to a foreign country; and (B) in the case of a member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces, duty during the deployment of the member with the Armed Forces to a foreign country under a call or order to active duty under a provision of law referred to in section 101(a)(13)(B) of title 10. (15) Covered servicemember The term "covered servicemember" means- (A) a member of the Armed Forces (including a member of the National Guard or Reserves) who is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy, is otherwise in outpatient status, or is otherwise on the temporary disability retired list, for a serious injury or illness; or (B) a veteran who is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy, for a serious injury or illness and who was a member of the Armed Forces (including a member of the National Guard or Reserves) at any time during the period of 5 years preceding the date on which the veteran undergoes that medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy. (16) Outpatient status The term "outpatient status", with respect to a covered servicemember, means the status of a member of the Armed Forces assigned to- (A) a military medical treatment facility as an outpatient; or (B) a unit established for the purpose of providing command and control of members of the Armed Forces receiving medical care as outpatients. (17) Next of kin The term "next of kin", used with respect to an individual, means the nearest blood relative of that individual. (18) Serious injury or illness The term "serious injury or illness"- (A) in the case of a member of the Armed Forces (including a member of the National Guard or Reserves), means an injury or illness that was incurred by the member in line of duty on active duty in the Armed Forces (or existed before the beginning of the member's active duty and was aggravated by service in line of duty on active duty in the Armed Forces) and that may render the member medically unfit to perform the duties of the member's office, grade, rank, or rating; and (B) in the case of a veteran who was a member of the Armed Forces (including a member of the National Guard or Reserves) at any time during a period described in paragraph (15)(B), means a qualifying (as defined by the Secretary of Labor) injury or illness that was incurred by the member in line of duty on active duty in the Armed Forces (or existed before the beginning of the member's active duty and was aggravated by service in line of duty on active duty in the Armed Forces) and that manifested itself before or after the member became a veteran. (19) Veteran The term "veteran" has the meaning given the term in section 101 of title 38. ( Pub. L. 103–3, title I, §101, Feb. 5, 1993, 107 Stat. 7 ; Pub. L. 104–1, title II, §202(c)(1)(A), Jan. 23, 1995, 109 Stat. 9 ; Pub. L. 108–271, §8(b), July 7, 2004, 118 Stat. 814 ; Pub. L. 110–181, div. A, title V, §585(a)(1), Jan. 28, 2008, 122 Stat. 128 ; Pub. L. 111–84, div. A, title V, §565(a)(1)(A), (2), (3), Oct. 28, 2009, 123 Stat. 2309 , 2310; Pub. L. 111–119, §2(a), Dec. 21, 2009, 123 Stat. 3476 ; Pub. L. 116–92, div. F, title LXXVI, §7604(b), Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 2308 .)” Source: 29 U.S.C. § 2611; https://www.neochart.com/catalog/federal/labor/title_29/chapter_28/section_2611/title29_sec2611_ddaa07f84d31/2611_definitions_as_used_in_this_subchapter_0001/index.html; data via neochart.com, snapshot 2026-08.
FMLA leave entitlement
The statute pins twelve workweeks during a twelve-month period for listed reasons, military-caregiver leave, intermittent leave, paid-leave substitution, and unpaid status. Verbatim source text: “§2612. Leave requirement (a) In general (1) Entitlement to leave Subject to section 2613 of this title and subsection (d)(3), an eligible employee shall be entitled to a total of 12 workweeks of leave during any 12-month period for one or more of the following: (A) Because of the birth of a son or daughter of the employee and in order to care for such son or daughter. (B) Because of the placement of a son or daughter with the employee for adoption or foster care. (C) In order to care for the spouse, or a son, daughter, or parent, of the employee, if such spouse, son, daughter, or parent has a serious health condition. (D) Because of a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the functions of the position of such employee. (E) Because of any qualifying exigency (as the Secretary shall, by regulation, determine) arising out of the fact that the spouse, or a son, daughter, or parent of the employee is on covered active duty (or has been notified of an impending call or order to covered active duty) in the Armed Forces. (F) During the period beginning on the date the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act takes effect, and ending on December 31, 2020, because of a qualifying need related to a public health emergency in accordance with section 2620 of this title. (2) Expiration of entitlement The entitlement to leave under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1) for a birth or placement of a son or daughter shall expire at the end of the 12-month period beginning on the date of such birth or placement. (3) Servicemember family leave Subject to section 2613 of this title, an eligible employee who is the spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin of a covered servicemember shall be entitled to a total of 26 workweeks of leave during a 12-month period to care for the servicemember. The leave described in this paragraph shall only be available during a single 12-month period. (4) Combined leave total Subject to subsection (d)(3), during the single 12-month period described in paragraph (3), an eligible employee shall be entitled to a combined total of 26 workweeks of leave under paragraphs (1) and (3). Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to limit the availability of leave under paragraph (1) during any other 12-month period. (5) Calculation of leave for airline flight crews The Secretary may provide, by regulation, a method for calculating the leave described in paragraph (1) with respect to employees described in section 2611(2)(D) of this title. (b) Leave taken intermittently or on reduced leave schedule (1) In general Leave under subparagraph (A) or (B) of subsection (a)(1) shall not be taken by an employee intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule unless the employee and the employer of the employee agree otherwise. Subject to paragraph (2), subsection (e)(2), and subsection (b)(5) or (f) (as appropriate) of section 2613 of this title, leave under subparagraph (C) or (D) of subsection (a)(1) or under subsection (a)(3) may be taken intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule when medically necessary. Subject to subsection (e)(3) and section 2613(f) of this title, leave under subsection (a)(1)(E) may be taken intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule. The taking of leave intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule pursuant to this paragraph shall not result in a reduction in the total amount of leave to which the employee is entitled under subsection (a) beyond the amount of leave actually taken. (2) Alternative position If an employee requests intermittent leave, or leave on a reduced leave schedule, under subparagraph (C) or (D) of subsection (a)(1) or under subsection (a)(3), that is foreseeable based on planned medical treatment, the employer may require such employee to transfer temporarily to an available alternative position offered by the employer for which the employee is qualified and that- (A) has equivalent pay and benefits; and (B) better accommodates recurring periods of leave than the regular employment position of the employee. (c) Unpaid leave permitted Except as provided in subsection (d), leave granted under subsection (a) (other than certain periods of leave under subsection (a)(1)(F)) may consist of unpaid leave. Where an employee is otherwise exempt under regulations issued by the Secretary pursuant to section 213(a)(1) of this title, the compliance of an employer with this subchapter by providing unpaid leave shall not affect the exempt status of the employee under such section. (d) Relationship to paid leave (1) Unpaid leave If an employer provides paid leave for fewer than 12 workweeks (or 26 workweeks in the case of leave provided under subsection (a)(3)), the additional weeks of leave necessary to attain the 12 workweeks (or 26 workweeks, as appropriate) of leave required under this subchapter may be provided without compensation. (2) Substitution of paid leave (A) In general An eligible employee may elect, or an employer may require the employee, to substitute any of the accrued paid vacation leave, personal leave, or family leave of the employee for leave provided under subparagraph (A), (B), (C), or (E) of subsection (a)(1) for any part of the 12-week period of such leave under such subsection. (B) Serious health condition An eligible employee may elect, or an employer may require the employee, to substitute any of the accrued paid vacation leave, personal leave, or medical or sick leave of the employee for leave provided under subparagraph (C) or (D) of subsection (a)(1) for any part of the 12-week period of such leave under such subsection, except that nothing in this subchapter shall require an employer to provide paid sick leave or paid medical leave in any situation in which such employer would not normally provide any such paid leave. An eligible employee may elect, or an employer may require the employee, to substitute any of the accrued paid vacation leave, personal leave, family leave, or medical or sick leave of the employee for leave provided under subsection (a)(3) for any part of the 26-week period of such leave under such subsection, except that nothing in this subchapter requires an employer to provide paid sick leave or paid medical leave in any situation in which the employer would not normally provide any such paid leave. (3) Special rule for GAO employees (A) Substitution of paid leave An employee of the Government Accountability Office may elect to substitute for any leave without pay under subparagraph (A) or (B) of subsection (a)(1) any paid leave which is available to such employee for that purpose. (B) Amount of paid leave The paid leave that is available to an employee of the Government Accountability Office for purposes of subparagraph (A) is- (i) the number of weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth or placement involved that corresponds to the number of administrative workweeks of paid parental leave available to employees under section 6382(d)(2)(B)(i) of title 5; and (ii) during the 12-month period referred to in subsection (a)(1) and in addition to the administrative workweeks described in clause (i), any additional paid vacation, personal, family, medical, or sick leave provided by such employer. (C) Limitation Nothing in this section shall be considered to require or permit an employer to require that an employee first use all or any portion of the leave described in subparagraph (B)(ii) before being allowed to use the paid parental leave described in clause (i) of subparagraph (B). (D) Additional rules Paid parental leave under subparagraph (B)(i)- (i) shall be payable from any appropriation or fund available for salaries or expenses for positions with the Government Accountability Office; (ii) if not used by the employee of such employer before the end of the 12-month period (as referred to in subsection (a)(1)) to which it relates, shall not accumulate for any subsequent use; and (iii) shall apply without regard to the limitations in subparagraph (E), (F), or (G) of section 6382(d)(2) of title 5 or section 2614(c)(2) of this title. (4) Special rule for Library of Congress employees Consistent with section 1301(a)(3)(J) of title 2, the rights and protections established by sections 2611 through 2615 of this title, including section 2612(d)(3), shall apply to employees of the Library of Congress under section 1312 of title 2. (e) Foreseeable leave (1) Requirement of notice In any case in which the necessity for leave under subparagraph (A) or (B) of subsection (a)(1) is foreseeable based on an expected birth or placement, the employee shall provide the employer with not less than 30 days' notice, before the date the leave is to begin, of the employee's intention to take leave under such subparagraph, except that if the date of the birth or placement requires leave to begin in less than 30 days, the employee shall provide such notice as is practicable. (2) Duties of employee In any case in which the necessity for leave under subparagraph (C) or (D) of subsection (a)(1) or under subsection (a)(3) is foreseeable based on planned medical treatment, the employee- (A) shall make a reasonable effort to schedule the treatment so as not to disrupt unduly the operations of the employer, subject to the approval of the health care provider of the employee or the health care provider of the son, daughter, spouse, parent, or covered servicemember of the employee, as appropriate; and (B) shall provide the employer with not less than 30 days' notice, before the date the leave is to begin, of the employee's intention to take leave under such subparagraph, except that if the date of the treatment requires leave to begin in less than 30 days, the employee shall provide such notice as is practicable. (3) Notice for leave due to covered active duty of family member In any case in which the necessity for leave under subsection (a)(1)(E) is foreseeable, whether because the spouse, or a son, daughter, or parent, of the employee is on covered active duty, or because of notification of an impending call or order to covered active duty, the employee shall provide such notice to the employer as is reasonable and practicable. (f) Spouses employed by same employer (1) In general In any case in which a husband and wife entitled to leave under subsection (a) are employed by the same employer, the aggregate number of workweeks of leave to which both may be entitled may be limited to 12 workweeks during any 12-month period, if such leave is taken- (A) under subparagraph (A) or (B) of subsection (a)(1); or (B) to care for a sick parent under subparagraph (C) of such subsection. (2) Servicemember family leave (A) In general The aggregate number of workweeks of leave to which both that husband and wife may be entitled under subsection (a) may be limited to 26 workweeks during the single 12-month period described in subsection (a)(3) if the leave is- (i) leave under subsection (a)(3); or (ii) a combination of leave under subsection (a)(3) and leave described in paragraph (1). (B) Both limitations applicable If the leave taken by the husband and wife includes leave described in paragraph (1), the limitation in paragraph (1) shall apply to the leave described in paragraph (1). ( Pub. L. 103–3, title I, §102, Feb. 5, 1993, 107 Stat. 9 ; Pub. L. 110–181, div. A, title V, §585(a)(2), (3)(A)–(D), Jan. 28, 2008, 122 Stat. 129 , 130; Pub. L. 111–84, div. A, title V, §565(a)(1)(B), (4), Oct. 28, 2009, 123 Stat. 2309 , 2311; Pub. L. 111–119, §2(b), Dec. 21, 2009, 123 Stat. 3477 ; Pub. L. 116–92, div. F, title LXXVI, §7604(a), Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 2307 ; Pub. L. 116–127, div. C, §3102(a), Mar. 18, 2020, 134 Stat. 189 .)” Source: 29 U.S.C. § 2612; https://www.neochart.com/catalog/federal/labor/title_29/chapter_28/section_2612/title29_sec2612_3f2c4bb68e88/2612_leave_requirement_0001/index.html; data via neochart.com, snapshot 2026-08.
ADA leave overlap
The ADA provision anchors a separate reasonable-accommodation path that can continue even when FMLA coverage or entitlement differs. Verbatim source text: “§12112. Discrimination (a) General rule No covered entity shall discriminate against a qualified individual on the basis of disability in regard to job application procedures, the hiring, advancement, or discharge of employees, employee compensation, job training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment. (b) Construction As used in subsection (a), the term "discriminate against a qualified individual on the basis of disability" includes- (1) limiting, segregating, or classifying a job applicant or employee in a way that adversely affects the opportunities or status of such applicant or employee because of the disability of such applicant or employee; (2) participating in a contractual or other arrangement or relationship that has the effect of subjecting a covered entity's qualified applicant or employee with a disability to the discrimination prohibited by this subchapter (such relationship includes a relationship with an employment or referral agency, labor union, an organization providing fringe benefits to an employee of the covered entity, or an organization providing training and apprenticeship programs); (3) utilizing standards, criteria, or methods of administration- (A) that have the effect of discrimination on the basis of disability; or (B) that perpetuate the discrimination of others who are subject to common administrative control; (4) excluding or otherwise denying equal jobs or benefits to a qualified individual because of the known disability of an individual with whom the qualified individual is known to have a relationship or association; (5)(A) not making reasonable accommodations to the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified individual with a disability who is an applicant or employee, unless such covered entity can demonstrate that the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the business of such covered entity; or (B) denying employment opportunities to a job applicant or employee who is an otherwise qualified individual with a disability, if such denial is based on the need of such covered entity to make reasonable accommodation to the physical or mental impairments of the employee or applicant; (6) using qualification standards, employment tests or other selection criteria that screen out or tend to screen out an individual with a disability or a class of individuals with disabilities unless the standard, test or other selection criteria, as used by the covered entity, is shown to be job-related for the position in question and is consistent with business necessity; and (7) failing to select and administer tests concerning employment in the most effective manner to ensure that, when such test is administered to a job applicant or employee who has a disability that impairs sensory, manual, or speaking skills, such test results accurately reflect the skills, aptitude, or whatever other factor of such applicant or employee that such test purports to measure, rather than reflecting the impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills of such employee or applicant (except where such skills are the factors that the test purports to measure). (c) Covered entities in foreign countries (1) In general It shall not be unlawful under this section for a covered entity to take any action that constitutes discrimination under this section with respect to an employee in a workplace in a foreign country if compliance with this section would cause such covered entity to violate the law of the foreign country in which such workplace is located. (2) Control of corporation (A) Presumption If an employer controls a corporation whose place of incorporation is a foreign country, any practice that constitutes discrimination under this section and is engaged in by such corporation shall be presumed to be engaged in by such employer. (B) Exception This section shall not apply with respect to the foreign operations of an employer that is a foreign person not controlled by an American employer. (C) Determination For purposes of this paragraph, the determination of whether an employer controls a corporation shall be based on- (i) the interrelation of operations; (ii) the common management; (iii) the centralized control of labor relations; and (iv) the common ownership or financial control, of the employer and the corporation. (d) Medical examinations and inquiries (1) In general The prohibition against discrimination as referred to in subsection (a) shall include medical examinations and inquiries. (2) Preemployment (A) Prohibited examination or inquiry Except as provided in paragraph (3), a covered entity shall not conduct a medical examination or make inquiries of a job applicant as to whether such applicant is an individual with a disability or as to the nature or severity of such disability. (B) Acceptable inquiry A covered entity may make preemployment inquiries into the ability of an applicant to perform job-related functions. (3) Employment entrance examination A covered entity may require a medical examination after an offer of employment has been made to a job applicant and prior to the commencement of the employment duties of such applicant, and may condition an offer of employment on the results of such examination, if- (A) all entering employees are subjected to such an examination regardless of disability; (B) information obtained regarding the medical condition or history of the applicant is collected and maintained on separate forms and in separate medical files and is treated as a confidential medical record, except that- (i) supervisors and managers may be informed regarding necessary restrictions on the work or duties of the employee and necessary accommodations; (ii) first aid and safety personnel may be informed, when appropriate, if the disability might require emergency treatment; and (iii) government officials investigating compliance with this chapter shall be provided relevant information on request; and (C) the results of such examination are used only in accordance with this subchapter. (4) Examination and inquiry (A) Prohibited examinations and inquiries A covered entity shall not require a medical examination and shall not make inquiries of an employee as to whether such employee is an individual with a disability or as to the nature or severity of the disability, unless such examination or inquiry is shown to be job-related and consistent with business necessity. (B) Acceptable examinations and inquiries A covered entity may conduct voluntary medical examinations, including voluntary medical histories, which are part of an employee health program available to employees at that work site. A covered entity may make inquiries into the ability of an employee to perform job-related functions. (C) Requirement Information obtained under subparagraph (B) regarding the medical condition or history of any employee are subject to the requirements of subparagraphs (B) and (C) of paragraph (3). ( Pub. L. 101–336, title I, §102, July 26, 1990, 104 Stat. 331 ; Pub. L. 102–166, title I, §109(b)(2), Nov. 21, 1991, 105 Stat. 1077 ; Pub. L. 110–325, §5(a), Sept. 25, 2008, 122 Stat. 3557 .)” Source: 42 U.S.C. § 12112; https://www.neochart.com/catalog/federal/civil_rights/title_42/chapter_126/section_12112/title42_sec12112_ee69fb3f451d/12112_discrimination_0001/index.html; data via neochart.com, snapshot 2026-08.
Pin the synthetic employment record
A synthetic leave packet folds request and paid-leave records into employer coverage, service months, hours ledger, worksite and radius count, reason and family relationship, event date, leave-year method, notice, certification, cure, designation, intermittent schedule, paid-leave substitution, benefit payment fields, health coverage, restoration, adverse events and review.
Work the employment application
The trace applies employer coverage before the three employee-eligibility coordinates and then classifies the leave reason. The twelve-workweek amount is not treated as paid wages; payment requires a separate employer or state program source. An exhausted or unavailable FMLA branch does not end ADA review. The ledger tracks only designated leave after authorized human decisions and does not infer certification sufficiency or retaliation.
Read the populated employment record
The leave record contains employer, employee, public or private category, hire date, service month, hours ledger, worksite, radius count, eligibility, leave reason, family relationship, event, leave-year method, entitlement branch, week balance field, intermittent schedule, notice, certification, cure, designation, paid substitution, state program, benefit field, health premium, return date, fitness record, restoration, adverse event, interference, retaliation, overlap, gap, and reviewer. The artifact contains 17 populated rows.
Jurisdiction: US; as of 2026-08-28; not legal advice; Render structure, refuse interpretation, cite, abstain, and hand off.
RENDER STRUCTURE · REFUSE INTERPRETATION · CITE · ABSTAIN · HAND-OFF: render structure, refuse interpretation, cite provenance, abstain when unsupported, and hand off to human review.
Read the complete record
The complete record keeps sources, stated facts, and questions for review separate. Pinned authorities: Verbatim statute or bounded case excerpt. 29 U.S.C. § 2611: FMLA definitions and eligibility: The statute pins the twelve-month service, one-thousand-two-hundred-fifty-hour, and fifty-employees-within-seventy-five-miles employee-eligibility structure.. 29 U.S.C. § 2612: FMLA leave entitlement: The statute pins twelve workweeks during a twelve-month period for listed reasons, military-caregiver leave, intermittent leave, paid-leave substitution, and unpaid status.. 42 U.S.C. § 12112: ADA leave overlap: The ADA provision anchors a separate reasonable-accommodation path that can continue even when FMLA coverage or entitlement differs.. Synthetic employment record: Classroom events, not liability or eligibility conclusions. Employment history: Employee has employer, worksites, hire and break dates, hours-of-service ledger, current location, headcount radius and prior leave. Leave event: Birth, placement, family-care, employee serious-health, qualifying-exigency or military-caregiver category with dates and intermittent schedule. Administration: Notice, eligibility notice, rights notice, certification request, deadline source, designation, substitution, benefit premium, status report, return date, fitness record, restoration and adverse event. Employment trace: Coverage, status, elements, defenses, computation, process and handoff. Employer coverage: Public or private employer category, commerce, employee count, calendar periods, joint employer and worksite. Eligible employee: At least twelve months employed, at least one thousand two hundred fifty hours in preceding twelve months, and no exclusion for worksite with fewer than fifty employees within seventy-five miles, subject to exact definitions. Entitlement: Up to twelve workweeks of unpaid leave in a twelve-month period for listed birth, placement, family-care, employee-health and qualifying-exigency reasons; separate twenty-six-week military-caregiver branch. Administration: Foreseeable or unforeseeable notice, eligibility and rights response, certification, cure, designation, intermittent or reduced schedule, recertification, substitution and tracking. During and return: Group-health maintenance, premiums, communications, outside work rule, key-employee issue, fitness-for-duty source, same or equivalent restoration and retaliation or interference. Other leave systems: ADA accommodation, workers' compensation, employer paid leave, sick leave, state or local paid family and medical leave, pregnancy law, military leave and collective agreement; concurrency must be sourced. Boundary: No real coverage, qualifying reason, certification, twelve-week balance, paid benefit, restoration, retaliation or deadline is computed.
Narrow summary
Apply employer and employee coverage before entitlement, state twelve weeks as unpaid FMLA leave, source paid benefits separately, and preserve ADA and other overlap paths.