The Department of Labor (DOL) has issued proposed Regulations to implement the 2009 statutory amendments to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Since Congress amended the FMLA in January 2008 and the DOL issued a comprehensive set of revised Regulations in November 2008, Congress has amended the statute two more times. Until now, however, the DOL has not revised the Regulations to reflect the most recent statutory changes.

The summary below highlights some of the more noteworthy proposed changes.

Proposed Changes Affecting the Military Provisions

On October 28, 2009, as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010, Congress amended the FMLA to expand the military family leave provisions. The proposed Regulations implementing the amendment:

>> reflect that “qualifying exigency” leave has been expanded to include family members of service members on active duty in the Regular Armed Forces when deployed to a foreign country, including deployment to “international waters” and areas outside of the United States, the District of Columbia, or any Territory or possession of the U.S....

Please see full alert below for more information.