When employees must be absent from work, this is known as being on leave. Several laws protect employee rights to be on leave for certain reasons, including the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, and more. Employers must give returning employees their former positions and place them at the same seniority, pay, and benefits levels that they would have attained had they not taken the leave.

Many states also have laws that provide for employee leave. These laws might, for example, allow for sick leave, family leave, or other reasons, such as voting, jury duty, victim protection, attending children’s school events, military duty, military family leave, public health emergencies, and responding to emergencies.