A Sign of Things to Come:
Is Employment Leave for Tennessee Military Family Members Around the Corner?
By Daniel Gilmore, courtesy of Miller and Martin PLLC

On November 11, Americans will pause to honor our nation's veterans. As a veteran, I deeply appreciate the respect and gratitude regularly expressed by many Americans, regardless of individual opinions concerning the ongoing wars abroad.

In the April issue of HR Notes, I pointed out the increasing burden placed upon the families of reservists and National Guardsmen as the nation's reliance on those service members continues to expand. Several states have begun to recognize this burden and have passed legislation allowing certain family members to take leave from work in order to spend time with service members who have been called to active duty. On October 9, California became the latest state to enact such legislation when Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed an "urgency statute," Assembly Bill 392. The statute requires California employers with at least 25 employees to immediately allow military spouses up to 10 days of unpaid leave while their spouses are home on leave during a deployment or at the conclusion of a deployment. By amending its Military and Veterans Code for the benefit of military spouses, California joins Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Minnesota, Nebraska and New York, each of which have their own statutes allowing leave for military family members. For instance, Indiana's Military Family Leave Act, Indiana Code 22-2-13, also provides for job-protected leave for family members other than spouses.

At the federal level, the Senate recently approved an amendment to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) that would allow certain relatives of service members who suffer combat-related injury or illness to take up to 26 weeks of unpaid leave to care for them. There is no similar amendment pending in the House. However, if the House eventually agrees to comparable legislation, it would be the first expansion of the FMLA since its enactment in August 1993. As most of you know, the FMLA currently allows qualifying employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave each year for several specific reasons, including to care for an immediate family member with a serious health condition. A separate amendment was also approved by the Senate that would provide employment protections for those employees who are absent from work to care for an ill or injured service member.

Hopefully, most employers would voluntarily allow family members the opportunity to spend valuable time with their loved ones before, during and after a call to active duty, especially when the service to our country results in serious injury or illness. Nevertheless, all employers should be aware of any legislation that does -- or may, in the future -- compel their generosity.

Click here to visit the Miller & Martin web site for a more detailed description of the provisions of AB 392, Indiana Code 22-2-13 and the proposed Senate amendments.