Sometimes, events occur that can rock a person to their core. Often these life-altering events correspond to a birth or a loved one falling ill. In order to handle these challenging times, many employees may use their right to take family leave.
Family leave refers to the legally required time off that is granted to all employees under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Family leave can be statutorily granted or it can be given as part of a benefits package, but the end result is the same: employees can take time off to care for life-altering medical events.
Under the FMLA, the time off that is granted is unpaid. All that the FMLA does is allow employees to take time off without being terminated from their position. However, some positions offer paid family leave as a benefit. These jobs may give full or half pay to employees who take leave for a certain amount of time. The exact circumstances of how paid family leave functions varies from employer to employer and can often be found in the employee handbook.
While an employee is on family leave they are not on the clock and as such have no requirement to work. However, if there is an emergency at work that only the employee can handle, they may elect to temporarily return to work to handle that emergency, though it isn’t required.
