February 2026 Mississippi Q&A roundup

Q         An employee is requesting to use Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave to care for her brother, who’s in the hospital in critical care. He is not a service member, and she’s neither his caregiver nor in loco parentis. Does she qualify for FMLA leave?

Care for a sibling isn’t explicitly identified in the FMLA as a qualifying reason for leave. However, it can be in the circumstances mentioned in the question. But, as you indicate, the employee doesn’t have an in loco parentis relationship with the sibling, and the sibling isn’t a covered service member. So, the leave isn’t FMLA-qualifying in this circumstance. 

Q         If employees are salaried and are terminated in the middle of a pay period, are those employees entitled to their full pay for that month?

Mississippi doesn’t have a wage and hour law addressing this issue. However, under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employers don’t have to pay salaried exempt employees their full week’s salary in the initial or terminal weeks of employment. In such cases, the employees can be paid pro rata for the time actually worked in the given week. 

Q         In states where medical marijuana use is legal, can employers still screen for marijuana and rescind a job offer because of a positive result even if the applicant has a medical marijuana card?