BUMP!

He should be able to take at least 6 days of assla. Check in his employee handbook if they allow sick leave to only be limited to taking care of himself. Many policies Allow sick leave to take care of family members, and dc law assla mandates that for at least 6 days I believe. If the employee handbook or Hr say he can Take days of sick leave to care for an immediate family member independent of fmla, then he should have an easier time getting sick leave for at least the Weeks you are considered incapacitated. Nothing that I knOw of in the dcfmla about what leave he can take.

My spouse's employer offers up to 16 weeks unpaid leave (this is under DCFMLA although they don't clearly state this) but recently informed him he cannot use any of his unused sick time to cover getting paid while he is on leave to care for me and our newborn. They said sick leave can only be used for his personal illness. He will also use any vacation time he has available but we counted on using his considerable sick leave to cover what was left of the 16 weeks.

Doesn't DCFMLA allow the employee the choice of using vacation, sick, and compensatory leave? Can an employer forbid a father from using his earned sick time to cover his unpaid leave while on DCFMLA if the reason for the leave is to take care of his newborn and spouse? Please help.

Anonymous wrote:VA and MD do not have their own FMLA laws like DC.

VA does have VAFMLA. My company is based in NJ, a state that has 24 weeks FMLA, but I work in VA. VA FMLA is 13 weels, but you can't take VA and Federal back to back, so in other words, I took 13 weeks VAFMLA and 5 weeks that my employer agreed upon, total 18 weeks. I know, VA sucks - typically, the more liberal a state, the more FMLA, e.g., CA and NJ.

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know if this would apply to a government contractor working in DC but the employers headquaters is in MD?

The company I work for has less than 50 employees and are headquatered out of MD but I work in DC. They are saying they don't HAVE to nor do they have FMLA because the laws in MD is only enforceable if the company has 50 or more employees.

It depends on where your official office is. i.e. if you work for a government contractor based out of MD but work at an agency in DC, you are a MD employee. But if you work for a bank that is headquartered in DC but you work at a DC branch, you are likely covered in DC.

Does anyone know if this would apply to a government contractor working in DC but the employers headquaters is in MD?

The company I work for has less than 50 employees and are headquatered out of MD but I work in DC. They are saying they don't HAVE to nor do they have FMLA because the laws in MD is only enforceable if the company has 50 or more employees.

OP, whoever you are, THANK YOU THANK YOU so much for posting this information. I am 23 weeks and just got put on bed rest. My boss is supportive and wants me to take time off. I called the HR department and the first person I spoke with said, no sorry under DC you only have a TOTAL of 16 weeks, to which I replied, no I have read the law and it is actually 16 PLUS 16, she transferred me to someoneone else in HR who confirmed that yes indeed I do have 16 plus 16. This is a huge help for me, one less thing for me to worry about.

* In DC an employee is entitled to up to 16 weeks of medical AND 16 weeks of family leave in a 24 month period as opposed to the federal policy of 12 weeks total in a 12 month period. (This entitles me to 16 weeks bedrest and 16 weeks maternity leave).

Does anyone know how the 24 month period is calculated? I have worked for the same employer for 7 years, had my first child in January, 2008 (and took my 16 weeks off) and now have a second in August, 2009. But the company I work for said I was not eligible for the DCFMLA because I had used it the first time and only permitted me to take the federal 12 weeks.

"OP - I am very surprised that the folks in your HR dept. didn't go over this with you. Did you ask the HR personnel for clarification on FMLA (especially since DC is a little bit different than Federal)?

I know my HR point of contact was super helpful and sent me a certified letter outlining all the "entitlements", exactly what dates (pending the baby's birth) I would have to return, the dates I would be covered for, etc. "

I am OP. I work for a restaurant with no HR dept and few full time employees in management, so I just dealt with my direct manager about this. I wish we had an HR department! I'm sure no one there even knows that the FLMA exists.

I live in DC and my office is in VA but my job requires me to do a fair amount of work in DC. (I probably spend about 30% of my working time in DC.) Am I eligible for the DC FMLA?

If your office is in VA you will fall under the VA FMLA, not DC FMLA.

Bump

I live in DC and my office is in VA but my job requires me to do a fair amount of work in DC. (I probably spend about 30% of my working time in DC.) Am I eligible for the DC FMLA?

Before counting on FMLA, find out if your employer spells out how they calculate "12 months," whether it's a calendar year, a year pegged to the anniversary of your hire date, a fiscal year, or some other way. (If they don't spell it out, then the 12 months is calculated in whatever way is most favorable to the employee, but if they do spell it out, make sure you know how they calculate it before making plans to take fml.)

This is so helpful right now. My work does not have a maternity leave policy and they are currently crafting one (most likely according to Federal FMLA. I'd rather get 16 weeks than 12, so thank you thank you thank you!!!

VA and MD do not have their own FMLA laws like DC.