Under the National Defense Authorization Act, Public Law 110-181, certain leave provisions have been added to the FMLA.
A. Eligible employees are entitled to up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave during the fiscal year for "any qualifying exigency" when the employee's spouse, child, or parent is on active duty or has been notified of an impending call or order to active duty in the Armed Forces (including the Reserves and National Guard) in support of a "contingency operation." Examples of a "qualifying exigency" may include settling legal matters, interviewing child care providers, handling financial matters, seeking assistance for care of elderly parents, and covering household duties that the service member had been handling.
B. An eligible employee who is the spouse, son, daughter, parent or next of kin of a service member who is recovering from a serious illness or injury sustained in the line of duty on active duty is entitled to up to 26 weeks of leave in a single 12-month period to care for the service member. "Next of kin" means the nearest blood relative of the service member.
Such leave is part of, not in addition to, any FMLA leave an employee may be using for other reasons.
