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Thursday, March 28, 2024

What Medical Conditions Qualify an Employee for FMLA Leave?

Last updated Saturday, November 9, 2013 17:10 ET

The condition must render the employee unable to work at all or unable to perform one or more of the essential functions of the employee’s job.

Dallas, United States, 11/09/2013 / SubmitMyPR /

While the Family and Medical Leave Act has been in place now for more than twenty years, employers still encounter situations every year that prompt them to reach out to employment law counsel. One common question concerns whether an employee’s medical condition should be considered a qualifying condition under the law.

To qualify as a medical condition that enables a person to take FMLA leave, a health care provider must determine that the condition renders the employee unable to work at all or unable to perform one or more of the essential functions of the employee’s job.

According to the United States Department of Labor, the most common health conditions that qualify an employee for FMLA leave are:

• conditions that require an overnight hospital stay;
• conditions that incapacitate an employee for more than three consecutive days and that require ongoing medical treatment;
• chronic conditions that cause occasional periods when an employee is incapacitated and requires treatment by a health care provider at least twice a year; and
• pregnancy (including prenatal visits, incapacity due to morning sickness, and medically required bed rest).

To learn more about handling employees’ requests for FMLA leave, contact an employment lawyer in your area. This article is presented by the employment law attorneys at Clouse Dunn LLP. For inquiries, send an email to [email protected] or call (214) 239-2705.