Even though the law has been around for decades, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is still complex and difficult to manage for many employers. According to recent AbsenceSoft data, FMLA compliance is the top challenge HR professionals experience when managing leave.
These days, employees are requesting FMLA leave more frequently. As requests come pouring in, HR teams find themselves buried in compliance-related tasks. They’re tracking requests, certifying leaves, and orchestrating employees’ return to work.
As HR’s workload swells, the risk of serious compliance mistakes grows in turn. In this article, we’ll not only explore the steps HR must take to get FMLA compliance right, but we’ll also dive into the strategies and tools HR needs to build a successful FMLA program that minimizes risk and maximizes the employee experience.
What is the FMLA?
The FMLA is a law that gives qualified employees access to unpaid, job protected leave in specific situations. But what makes an employee qualified? To take FMLA leave, employees need to check a few boxes:
- An employee must work for a covered employer: a public- or private-sector organization that employs 50 or more employees in 20 or more workweeks in the current or previous calendar year.
- The employee must work at a location where 50 employees work for an employer within 75 miles.
- The employee must also be eligible for leave. An employee must have worked for their employer for 12 months — time that can be accumulated over a seven-year period.
- The employee also needs to have worked at least 1,250 hours within the 12 months prior to the time of leave.
Crucially, to take FMLA leave, an employee must have a qualifying reason to take leave. According to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), the agency that enforces the law, an employee can take FMLA leave for any of the following reasons:
- The birth of a child and to care for the newborn child within one year of birth.
- The placement with the employee of a child for adoption or foster care and to care for the newly placed child within one year of placement.
- To care for a family member, the employee’s spouse, child, or parent, who has a serious health condition.
- A serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the essential functions of his or her job.
- Any qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that the employee’s spouse, son, daughter, or parent is a covered military member on “covered active duty.”
So, once an employee satisfies this long list of requirements, what are they entitled to?
In most cases, the provisions of the FMLA include 12 workweeks of unpaid leave in a 12-month period. Eligible employees don’t have to use this leave all at once; in fact, employees can take leave intermittently or through a reduced schedule. The law also ensures that, after leave, employees can return to their jobs — or similar ones. Finally, it gives employees access to group health benefits while they’re out on leave.
The law also grants twenty-six weeks of leave in the same period to employees who need to care for a covered servicemember with a serious injury or illness (so long as the employee taking the leave is a servicemember’s spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin).
What happens when an employee is not eligible for FMLA leave?
If an employee fails to satisfy the eligibility requirements of the FMLA, they may still have access to some type of leave. They may qualify for a leave-related accommodation through the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). Or a state or local leave law may give them some time off. A company policy may also offer leave to someone who doesn’t qualify for FMLA leave.
Why is FMLA Compliance Important?
Complying with the FMLA is a complicated, ongoing task. Before an employee even asks for leave, employers must display the FMLA poster and provide general notice.
Once an FMLA request is made, the employer must complete a series of steps, including:
- Accurately determining employee eligibility.
- Providing eligibility and rights and responsibilities notices on time.
- Properly conducting the certification process.
- Granting or denying the leave request and providing the designation notice.
- Administering the leave while continuing health benefits.
- Restoring the employee to the same or equivalent position at the end of the leave.
- Maintaining records properly.
There’s a number of reasons why employers should want to achieve FMLA compliance. First, and most obviously, there’s the DOL’s enforcement. The agency can fine employers for non-compliance — in fact, it increased penalty fees in early 2025.
Compliance mistakes can also result in expensive lawsuits, like the 2019 case that ended in a $1.3 million damage award for the employee.
Clear, compliant, and streamlined FMLA processes drive employee experience
When HR is overwhelmed, FMLA missteps may occur that not only risk compliance mistakes but also frustrate employees. According to AbsenceSoft’s Leave of Absence Experience and Business Impact Report, about 1 in 10 employees experienced a problem with their leave, including miscalculated pay, benefits issues, or job loss.
Issues like these can impact employee experience: AbsenceSoft data has revealed that 40% of employees who encountered a poor leave experience said the process was confusing or unclear. But they also damage the employer-employee relationship. A recent AbsenceSoft report found that poor leave experiences hurt morale, decrease motivation, and drive turnover.
Positive leave experiences create the opposite effect. Employees who encounter such experiences are more motivated to return to work, more productive, and more loyal to their workplace.
Organizations can even leverage leave as a strategic advantage to future employees. According to AbsenceSoft data, 86% of job seekers said they’re more likely to apply for roles that advertise paid leave benefits.
Streamline FMLA compliance: Complying with the FMLA isn’t easy. But it’s even harder when employers add in other employment laws, like the ADA, the PWFA, and state laws. The AbsenceSoft Compliance Engine™ (ACE) supports over 200+ federal and state leave and accommodations laws right out of the box, equipping HR teams with the tools they need to stay ahead of evolving legislation.
How to Manage the FMLA Compliantly
No matter how you structure your leave program, the right technology needs to be at the center of it. Manual processes, spreadsheets, and sticky notes won’t keep you compliant as requests continue to rise.
The FMLA requires precise tracking, accurate calculations, and timely communications. It’s easy for details to slip through the cracks when HR teams are already over capacity. That’s where technology with a true compliance engine comes in—not just generic automation, but tools that are vetted by compliance experts and updated with changes to federal and state laws.
It’s not enough to manage the FMLA alone, either. The right technology should account for overlapping protections like the ADA, the PWFA, and state leave laws, ensuring that each employee’s request is handled accurately and equitably. This reduces your compliance risk while lightening the administrative load for your HR team.
If you’re still managing leave manually, now is the time to evaluate technology that centralizes data, automates eligibility calculations, and supports your team through every step of the leave lifecycle. This helps ensure that employees receive the support they need while keeping your organization compliant, no matter how many requests come in.
Ready to optimize your organization’s approach to the FMLA? Download AbsenceSoft’s Guide: How to Modernize and Automate FMLA Management.
FMLA Management: Common Challenges
The FMLA may appear to be a fairly straightforward statute, but it gets complicated as employees with real-life situations begin to request leave.
Employees, for example, may need to take their leave intermittently or through a reduced schedule. Their circumstances may necessitate an accommodation that allows an employee to perform the essential functions of their job. Their return to work may not follow a standard path, especially if they’re dealing with mental health conditions.
The following articles can help employers navigate these circumstances and more:
- How to Manage Intermittent FMLA Leave
- How to Stay Compliant When Employees Request FMLA Reduced Work Schedules
- Leave Under the FMLA vs ADA: What to Do When Laws Overlap
- Can Employees Use FMLA for their Mental Health?
- Managing FMLA Requests for Migraines: A Guide for Leave Managers
- Can FMLA Be Used for Clinical Trials?
- An HR Guide to FMLA Eligibility and Remote Employees
Optimize Your Organization’s FMLA Management with AbsenceSoft
Complying with the FMLA is a challenge for many HR practitioners and their organizations. But it’s a non-negotiable: to avoid conflict with the DOL and prioritize the employee experience, employers must develop a strong, compliant approach to the FMLA.
Employers don’t have to achieve this on their own. Modern solutions like AbsenceSoft pave the way for smooth, compliant FMLA management, saving HR teams time and providing employees the leave experience they desire.
For Leander Independent School District — a large, fast-growing district that employs over 6,000 people at 44 campuses in Texas — FMLA management used to involve manual calculations across 30 separate calendars. After implementing AbsenceSoft, the school district saved one to three hours per day, per leave manager. The team no longer had to worry about accidental miscalculations and the ramifications that could follow.