FMLA - Florida

Employee eligibility

To be eligible for leave benefits, an employee simply must work for a state agency. Unlike FMLA, an employee does not need to work a specified number of months or hours to be eligible for parental or family medical leave under Florida’s provisions.

Leave entitlement

An eligible state employee may take no more than six months of leave.

Type of leave

An eligible employee may take parental or family medical leave for the birth, adoption, or illness of a child, spouse, or parent.

“Family medical leave” means leave requested by an employee for a serious family illness, including:

• An accident, disease, or condition that poses imminent danger of death, requires hospitalization involving an organ transplant, limb amputation, or other procedure of similar severity; or
• Any mental or physical condition that requires constant in-home care.

“Parental leave” means leave for the father or mother of a child who is born to or adopted by that parent.

Maintenance of health benefits

Florida does not require a state agency to maintain coverage under any group health plan while the employee is on leave; FMLA, however, requires that covered employers continue to provide group health insurance.

Job restoration

Similar to the FMLA, Florida requires that a state employee returning to work from leave must be restored to the same or equivalent position with equivalent pay and with seniority, retirement, fringe benefits, and other service credits accumulated prior to their leave.

Notice

Employees may take parental or family medical leave on a date that they determine in consultation with their physician following notification to their employer in writing, and that is approved by the employer.