News Notes: Labor Department Reminds Employers That Service Time Counts Toward FMLA Eligibility

The federal Labor Department has issued a memorandum clarifying its position on the rights of returning uniformed service members to take family and medical leave. The department says that active duty time must be counted toward these workers’ eligibility to take time off under the Family and Medical Leave Act. In particular, employees generally become eligible for FMLA leave if they work at least 1,250 hours over a 12-month period. The new memorandum says employers should count towards FMLA eligibility the months and hours that reservists or National Guard members would have worked if they had not been called up for military service.