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If you or a member of your family have a serious health condition that requires you to take medical leave from work, you may be able to take a leave from your job for up to 12 weeks under The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). FMLA leave can be continuous, or it may be used for shorter, intermittent periods of time.

The FMLA provides safeguards for employees of companies seeking medical leave. The FMLA governs private companies with at least 50 workers within a 75-mile radius of where you work, plus local or federal government and public schools, no matter what their size.

You could be eligible for leave under the FMLA for the following reasons:

• To care for your own serious health condition;
• For the birth and care of a newborn child;
• For the adoption by the employee or foster placement of a child with the employee;
• To care for an immediate family member’s serious health condition;
• To care for an injured or seriously ill military service member or veteran (in this case, leave could be as long as 26 weeks);

Typically, to be eligible for FMLA leave, you must have been employed by your company for at least 12 months and worked for at least 1,250 hours (excluding vacation and sick leave) during the 12-month period immediately preceding the leave request.