FMLA - Montana

Type of leave

The leave would be because of pregnancy.

Maintenance of health benefits

The state does not require an employer to maintain coverage under a group health plan while the employee is on this type of leave.

Job restoration

The employee must be reinstated to her original job or to an equivalent position with equivalent pay and accumulated seniority, retirement, fringe benefits, and other service credits unless, in the case of a private employer, the employer’s circumstances have so changed as to make it impossible or unreasonable to do so.

Notice

The statute does not include provisions for employee notice of the need for leave.

Employer coverage

Montana's parental leave provisions apply to state employees.

Employee eligibility

Employees must be permanent state employees.

Leave entitlement

An employee must be allowed to take a reasonable leave of absence and allow the employee to use sick leave immediately following the birth or placement of a child for a period not to exceed 15 working days.

Type of leave

The leave would be used when an employee is adopting a child or when the employee is a birth father.

Maintenance of health benefits

The state does not require an employer to maintain coverage under a group health plan while the employee is on leave.

Job restoration

The statute does not include provisions for job restoration.

Employer coverage

Employers with employees in Montana are covered by the law.

Employee eligibility

Employees who have completed their probationary period may take unpaid leave to perform volunteer emergency services as firefighters or emergency medical technicians.

The law defines a probationary period as 12 months, beginning on the date that the employee begins work, unless an employer establishes an alternative probationary period. Employers may extend a probationary period before its expiration, but the original probationary period with extensions may not exceed 18 months.

Leave entitlement

The law does not dictate a particular amount of leave. Employers may determine whether employees may leave work to respond to an emergency.

Since the reason for leave will not qualify for federal FMLA leave, it does not run concurrently with federal FMLA.

Notices

Employees must give their employers notice if they serve as a volunteer services provider or join a volunteer emergency unit or organization.

Employees serving before the effective date of the law (April 16, 2025) are required to provide written notification of their service within 30 days of the effective date of the law.

After April 16, 2025: Employees who become volunteer emergency service providers or join volunteer emergency units or organizations must provide this written notice to their employers within 30 days of their change of status or within 30 days of hire.

Employees who will be absent or late to work to perform volunteer emergency service duties must give notice to their employer as soon as possible. If an employee’s absence or delay would imperil public safety or prevent the employer from performing an essential function, the employer may require the employee to request and receive prior authorization to respond to an emergency.

Employers may request that employees who are volunteer emergency service providers and are absent from or late to work provide a written statement from a supervisor of the volunteer emergency service organization that the employees responded to an emergency and provide the date, time, and duration of the emergency.

Job restoration

Employers may not terminate employees because they have elected to serve as a volunteer emergency services provider or joined a volunteer emergency unit or organization.

After written notification is provided, employers may not terminate employees who serve as volunteer emergency services providers if the employees are absent or late to work while performing volunteer emergency service duties during an emergency.