Legal Question in Medical Leave in Virginia
Sick leave: Daughter:
I work for the State of VA. My
daughter is pregnant and has been
confined to strict bed rest due to
complications. I put in for three days
of sick leave (family) to take care of
her because there would be no one
available for those days to monitor
her and make sure she was taken
care of for 48-72 hours. I was told
that I could not take FMSL and could
only take annual or vacation leave. I
do have enough sick leave available.
I was also told that because she was
over 21 years old, she was not a part
of my immediate family. I am no
longer married and my daughter is
my beneficiary. Is it true that I
could not take sick leave for family to
take care of my daughter or to help
with delivery of her twins? In the
State of VA, I must take annual or
vacation leave?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Sick leave: Daughter:
Under the Family and Medical Leave Act(FMLA)SEC 102(C)(2) SUBSTITUTION OF PAID LEAVE---An eligible employee may elect ot an employer may require the employee, to substitute any of the accrued vacation
leave, personal leave, or family leave of the employee for leave provided under subparagraph (A)
(B) or (C) of subsection (a)(1) for any part of the 12 week period of such leave under such subsection.
Yes, under the forgoing provision your employer can require that you first use personal accrued leave before resorting to FMLA. However, what you were told regarding your daughter as not qualifying as an immediate family member since she
is now over 21 years of age is not quite correct since the age specified in the Act is actually 18
(rather than 21)but does not exclude a son or daughter who is older than 18 "who is incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability".
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
