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FAMILY MEDICAL LEAVE (FMLA) #226 Eligible employees (described above) whose spouse, son, daughter, or parent either has been notified of an impending call or order to covered active military duty or who is already on covered active duty may take up to 12 weeks of leave for reasons related to or affected by the family member’s call-up or service. The qualifying exigency must be one of the following: (1) short-notice deployment; (2) military events and activities; (3) childcare and school activities; (3) financial and legal arrangements; (5) counseling; (6) rest and recuperation; (7) post-deployment activities; (8) parental care; or (9) additional activities that arise out of active duty, provided that the employer and employee agree, including agreement on timing and duration of the leave. Military Caregiver Leave An employee eligible for FMLA leave (described above) who is the spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin of a covered servicemember may take up to 26 weeks in a single 12-month period to care for that servicemember. The family member must be a current member of the Armed Forces (including a member of the National Guard or Reserves), who has a serious injury or illness incurred in the line of duty on active duty for which he or she is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy, or otherwise is on outpatient status or on the temporary disability retired list. Eligible employees may not take leave under this provision to care for former members of the Armed Forces, former members of the National Guard and Reserves, or members on the permanent disability retired list. DEFINITIONS • A “son or daughter of a covered servicemember” means the covered servicemember’s biological, adopted, or foster child, stepchild, legal ward, or a child for whom the covered servicemember stood in loco parentis, and who is of any age. • A “parent of a covered servicemember” means a covered servicemember’s biological, adoptive, step, or foster father or mother, or any other individual who stood in loco parentis to the covered servicemember. This term does not include parents “in law.” • The “next of kin of a covered servicemember” is the nearest blood relative, other than the covered servicemember’s spouse, parent, son, or daughter, in the following order of priority: blood relatives who have been granted legal custody of the servicemember by court decree or statutory provisions, brothers and sisters, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and first cousins, unless the covered servicemember has specifically designated in writing another blood relative as his or her nearest blood relative for purposes of military caregiver leave under the FMLA. When no such designation is made, and there are multiple family members with the same level of relationship to the covered servicemember, all such family members shall be considered the covered servicemember’s next of kin and may take FMLA leave to provide care to the covered servicemember, either consecutively or simultaneously. When such designation has been made, the designated individual shall be deemed to be the covered servicemember’s only next of kin. • “Covered active duty” means: o “Covered active duty” for members of a regular component of the Armed Forces means duty during deployment of the member with the Armed Forces to a foreign country. 71 12/2024