The Essential Guide to Family & Medical Leave

298 | the essential guide to family and medical leave
This appendix summarizes basic information about each state’s family
and medical leave laws. We have included only laws that apply to private
employers; laws that apply to government employers are not listed
here. If your state is not included, it currently has no applicable leave laws.
We have not included all state leave laws, only those that provide for
family and medical leave. For example, we have not included state laws that
require employers to give leave for military service, jury duty, or voting.
The following categories of laws are included (each is explained in more
detail in Chapter 11):
• Family and medical leave laws. These laws provide leave similar to the
FMLA, such as leave for the employee’s own serious health condition,
leave to care for a seriously ill family member, and parental leave.
• Pregnancy disability leave laws. These laws provide leave when a woman is
disabled by pregnancy, childbirth, and related conditions.
• Adoption leave laws. These laws provide leave for adoption, generally by
requiring employers who offer leave for childbirth to make the same
leave available to adoptive parents.
• Small necessities laws. These laws provide leave for activities relating to a
child’s school and/or to take a child or elderly relative to routine medical
and dental appointments.
• Domestic violence leave laws. These laws provide leave for an employee
who has been, or whose family member has been, a victim of domestic
violence.
We provide some basic information on each law, including which employers
are covered, which employees are eligible for leave, how much leave must
be provided, and for what purposes. We have not included every detail about
every law—for example, what constitutes a “serious health condition” under
the state’s rules, what a medical certification must include, whether employers
have posting or record-keeping requirements, and so on. To find out more
about your state’s laws, contact your state’s department of labor (contact
information is at the end of this appendix). If you have any questions about
how the FMLA interacts with your state’s laws, consult with an experienced
employment lawyer.