There are many family and medical conditions that qualify under the Family and Medical Leave Act. The FMLA lists the different ways you might qualify for FMLA leave.
The Department of Labor (DOL) provides guidance on that:
As you can see from the DOL’s guidance, you can request FMLA under a variety of circumstances.
There are several common reasons that employees request FMLA. Sickness and disability fall into this category.
At some point in your life, you may find yourself becoming sick or disabled. This may require you to take time off from work to recover. The
law protects your employer from discriminating against you for becoming disabled.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) provides broad protections for those who suffer from a disability.
The FMLA ensures that you are provided with time to recover when you become sick. And also time to cope with a disability.
However, you do not have to be disabled to receive FMLA leave. The FMLA covers
any serious health condition. A serious condition might involve you becoming sick, rather than disabled.
To receive FMLA leave, you have to ask your employer for leave and fill out the paperwork they send you by the deadline.
Normally, companies grant leave. But there are situations in which employers attempt to interfere with the employee’s rights.
Further, concerning childbirth, women often face a difficult choice. As you can see from the data published in an article that
Bob Dietrich wrote, pregnancy is the most often reason people take FMLA.
After paid maternity leave runs out, many women decide to take unpaid FMLA leave to care for their newborn child.
Pregnancy discrimination unmistakably exists in the workplace. And mothers coming back from paid
maternity leave must decide between taking more unpaid leave or coming back before you are ready to appease the boss.
If your employer refuses to give you leave or discourages you from taking leave, you may have an FMLA interference claim.
In addition, here are some other common reasons why eligible employees take FMLA leave: