A friend of a friend called for advice the other day about maternity leave. Unfortunately, the woman did not work for a company required by federal or state law to offer maternity leave. As I explained to the woman, many companies are not required by law to offer maternity leave because of their size.

Under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), covered employers (i.e., companies that employ 50 or more employees within a 75 mile radius) must grant eligible employees (i.e., persons who worked for their employers for at least a year and who worked at least 1250 hours in the preceding year) up to a total of twelve (12) workweeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period for the birth and care of the newborn child of the employee.

Under the Tennessee Maternity Leave Act (Tenn. Code Ann. 4-21-408), employees who have
been employed by the same employer for at least twelve (12) consecutive months as full-time employees may be absent from their employment for a period not to exceed four (4) months for adoption, pregnancy, childbirth and nursing the infant. The TMLA applies to employers who employ 100 or more employees at a single job site. Three (3) months notice is required in order to receive the leave requested.

The practical result of the FMLA is that only those persons working for employers who employ 50 or more persons will be entitled to legally mandated maternity leave. The practical result of the TMLA is that only those persons working for employers who employ 100 or more persons at a single location will be entitled to legally mandated maternity leave. By the way, the FMLA and TMLA also apply to adoptions.

Additional information about the FMLA can be found at the U.S. Department of Labor’s website: www.dol.gov.