Military Family Leave

The National Defense Authorization Act for 2010 (HR2647) expands an employee's right to family military "exigency" leave and "caregiver" leave associated with a family member's call to service.

Exigency Leave

• Available to qualified employees with eligible family members who are on covered active duty (or has been notified of an impending call or ordered to covered activity duty) in the Armed Forces.
• Eight defined uses for Exigency Leave:

  Short-notice deployment:

  Up to seven calendar days of leave to address any issue that arises when a covered service member is called to active duty seven days or fewer before deployment.

  Military events:

  To attend any ceremony, event, program, or activity sponsored by the military, a military organization, or the American Red Cross.

  Childcare and school activities:

  To attend to various childcare and school activities affected by a covered military member's call to active duty, such as to arrange for alternative childcare, provide emergency childcare, or deal with school or daycare enrollment necessitated by the active duty call, or to attend school meetings necessary due to circumstances arising from the active duty call.

  Financial and legal arrangements:

  To address the covered military member's absence.

  Counseling:

  For the employee, a covered military member, or child, other than by a health care provider necessitated by a call to active duty.

  Rest and recuperation:

  With a covered military member who is on temporary, short-term rest and relaxation during a period of deployment. Employee may be granted up to fifteen (15) working days.

  Post-deployment activities:

  To attend military-sponsored events within 90 days after deployment.

  Additional activities:

  Arising from a call to active duty that is agreed upon between the employer and the employee.

Caregiver Leave

• Available to eligible family members of veterans of any branch of the military, provided the prior military service was within five (5) years of the medical treatment that caused the need for caregiver leave.
• "Serious injury or illness" includes the aggravation of an existing or pre-existing injury of an active duty service member in the Armed Forces.
• Allows up to 26 weeks of military caregiver and regular FMLA leave to be taken within a designated year.
• Next of kin is defined as the "nearest blood relative" (other than a spouse, parent, son, or daughter), with the governing order of priority being that specified in the rule, unless the employee has designated another blood relative as next of kin for the purpose of caregiver leave.