Eligibility & Leave Programs, Explained
One absence is usually covered by several programs at once — federal FMLA, one or more state programs, and employer policy — each with its own eligibility test, entitlement, and paperwork. Leave…
One absence is usually covered by several programs at once — federal FMLA, one or more state programs, and employer policy — each with its own eligibility test, entitlement, and paperwork. Leave tracks them separately on a case so each decision is explicit.
The layers
- FMLA — federal job protection: 12 workweeks, unpaid. See FMLA basics.
- State programs — many states add paid family/medical leave or broader protection. Which ones apply is driven by the employee’s work state — the single most consequential field on a case.
- Employer policy — company maternity/parental/medical policies run alongside, often concurrently.
- ADA — not a leave program but an accommodation duty; leave beyond entitlement can be evaluated as an accommodation (the Pending ADA stage).
On a case
Each program on a case carries its own eligibility status — open (being assessed), approved, declined, or pending state decision (a state agency decides some programs, not us) — and its own date window. The policy breakdown table shows all of them at a glance; the same table, locked, appears in the determination email so everyone reads from one page.
The clock
Entitlement is measured against the employer’s chosen 12-month window (calendar year, rolling forward, rolling backward, or anniversary). Weekends and observed holidays don’t burn entitlement; on intermittent leave, usage is counted in hours and days as taken. Employees see the result as plain-language balances (“9.5 of 12 weeks left”) on their dashboard.