The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993 provides one of the most important legal protections afforded to employees in the United States. Eligible employees who work for a covered employer can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for the following reasons:

• for the birth of a child or placement of a child for adoption or foster care;
• to bond with a child (within one year of the child’s birth or placement);
• to care for the employee’s spouse, child, or parent who has a qualifying serious health condition;
• for the employee’s own qualifying serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the employee’s job; and
• for qualifying exigencies related to the foreign deployment of a military member who is the employee’s spouse, child, or parent.