FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act)

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal law that allows eligible employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year for specific family and medical reasons, and critically, your employer must maintain your health insurance coverage during that leave on the same terms as if you were still working.

FMLA leave can be used for the birth or adoption of a child, to care for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition, for your own serious health condition, or for certain military family situations. You're eligible if you've worked for your employer for at least 12 months, worked at least 1,250 hours in the past year, and your employer has 50 or more employees.

The health insurance protection is the part that matters most here. While you're on FMLA leave, your employer must continue your group health coverage. You're still responsible for your share of the premium (the same amount you'd pay if working), but the employer can't cancel your coverage or change your benefits during the leave period.

If you can't afford your premium payments during unpaid leave, talk to your employer's HR department. Some employers allow premium payments to be deferred or caught up after you return. If your coverage lapses because of non-payment during FMLA leave, your employer must reinstate it immediately when you return, with no waiting period or pre-existing condition exclusion.

FMLA leave is unpaid at the federal level, though some states have paid family leave programs that run alongside it. Some employers also offer short-term disability insurance that provides partial income during medical leave.