Save some for later: Splitting FMLA parental leave

Q         If an employee takes Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave to bond with his new child, would he be able to take additional bonding time later the same year if he still had FMLA time available?

Potentially! The FMLA entitles eligible employees to up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for bonding with a newborn child. This leave may be taken during a 12-month period, which begins on the child’s date of birth.

Often, employees eligible to take FMLA leave for a new child do so in one consecutive period, beginning on the child’s date of birth. However, leave for bonding with a new child can be used intermittently by agreement between the employee and employer. For employers, specifying a policy for the use of intermittent FMLA leave in the employee handbook and applying it equally to all employees is a good practice.

In the scenario above, the employee would have to seek his employer’s agreement to split up his 12 weeks of leave. If his employer agrees, he could, for example, take six weeks of leave when his child is born, return to work, and then take the remaining six weeks later in the year (as long as it was within 12 months of the child’s birth).

This is true for all parents, regardless of sex, and the same rules apply for the placement of a child through adoption or foster care. Both full-time and part-time employees may use their leave intermittently with the employer’s permission.