DOL- Wage and Hour
Clarifies the Definition of Children Under FMLA
Cynthia A. Paul
The Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor issued an adminstrative interpretation clarifying the definition of children under the FMLA to include domestic partners.
In July, the U.S. Department of Labor clarified the definition of "son and daughter" under the Family and Medical Leave Act to ensure that an employee who assumes the role of caring for a child receives parental rights to family leave regardless of the legal or biological relationship. The FMLA allows workers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period to care for loved ones or themselves. The 1993 law also allows employees to take time off for the adoption or the birth of a child. The administrative interpretation issued by Nancy J. Leppink, deputy administrator of the department's Wage and Hour Division, "clarifies that these rights, which provide work-family balance, extend to the various parenting relationships that exist in today's world. This action is a victory for many non-traditional families, including families in the lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender community, who often in the past have been denied leave to care for their loved ones."