Set to take effect on June 26, 2021, the new law applies only to employees otherwise eligible for leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). 

An employer subject to the FMLA is required to provide the same leave to which an eligible employee is entitled under the FMLA when an eligible employee is unable to work because of a serious health condition or must care for the eligible employee's spouse, child or parent for the preparation and recovery necessary for surgery related to organ or tissue donation by or for the eligible employee or the eligible employee's spouse, child or parent.

To be an eligible employee under the FMLA, an employee must:

• work for a covered employer
• have worked at least 1,250 hours during the 12 months prior to the start of leave
• work at a location where 50 or more employees work at that location or within 75 miles of it
• have worked for the employer for at least 12 months

In order to be a covered employer under the FMLA, a private employer must have at least 50 employees during at least 20 calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year. Government agencies (including local, state and federal employers) and public and private elementary and secondary schools are covered by the FMLA regardless of the number of employees.

FMLA leave is for up to 12 weeks in the 12-month period identified by a covered employer in its policy. Leave under the Living Donor Protection Act will typically run concurrently with leave under the FMLA because an organ donation would qualify as a serious medical condition whenever it results in an overnight stay in a hospital and the post-surgery recovery qualifies as a serious health condition.