FMLA & ADAAA

Family Medical Leave Act vs. Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act

	FMLA	ADAAA
Enforcement Authority	Department of Labor (Wage and Hour Division)	Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
Overview	Entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take paid or unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave	Protects the rights of people with disabilities by eliminating barriers to their participation in many aspects of living and working in the US
Purpose	Sets minimum leave standards for employees: for the birth and newborn care of a child placement of a child for adoption or foster care to care for an immediate family member with a serious health condition for the employee’s serious health condition a qualifying military exigency arising from the employee’s spouse, son, daughter or parent’s active military duty to care for a covered service member with a serious injury or illness incurred in the line of active duty if the employee is the spouse, child, parent, or next of kin of the service member (military caregiver leave) – 26 weeks	Prohibits discrimination against applicants and employees who are “qualified individuals with a disability” Prohibits discrimination against an individual who has a relationship with someone who has a disability To provide reasonable accommodations
Eligibility	An employee who has worked at least 12 months and 1250 hours prior to the start of the leave If an employee is not eligible, refer to ADAAA process	An employee (or applicant) who is disabled as defined by the ADAAA, is qualified for the position and can perform the essential functions of the position with or without a reasonable accommodation
Length of Leave	12 weeks in the 12 month period as defined by the employer COM follows a rolling calendar year	No specific limit for the amount of leave that would be provided as a reasonable accommodation Determined on case-by-case basis
Triggers	Employee out for 3 days or more, the division sends FMLA documents	Does not require the employee to use magic words such as “accommodation” or “disability”
Reference	COM FMLA Policy 66-06	COM ADAAA Policy 30-04

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