How to Apply for FMLA Leave in Pennsylvania

This article is part of Pennsylvania employment law, the reference on pay, leave, and termination rights across the state. Because Pennsylvania has not enacted its own family or medical leave statute, the leave described here comes entirely from the federal FMLA, set out at 29 U.S.C. § 2612 and the Department of Labor’s regulations at 29 CFR Part 825. The same federal rules apply everywhere in Pennsylvania, whether you work in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, or a rural county.

Who qualifies for FMLA in Pennsylvania

FMLA does not cover every worker. Three conditions must all be met on the date the leave is to start, under 29 CFR § 825.110:

• You have been employed by the same employer for at least 12 months. The months need not be consecutive.
• You have worked at least 1,250 hours of actual work for that employer during the 12 months immediately before the leave begins.
• You work at a site where the employer has 50 or more employees within 75 miles.

The 50-employee threshold means many small Pennsylvania businesses are not covered at all. Private employers with fewer than 50 employees, and workers who have not yet reached 12 months or 1,250 hours, fall outside the FMLA. Public agencies and public and private elementary and secondary schools are covered without regard to the 50-employee count.

Pennsylvania has no separate state family-leave program that fills this gap. Unlike states with their own paid family leave insurance, Pennsylvania leaves family and medical leave to the federal statute, so a worker who does not meet the FMLA thresholds has no state law equivalent to fall back on.

What FMLA leave covers

An eligible employee is entitled to a total of 12 workweeks of unpaid leave in a 12-month period for a covered reason, under 29 U.S.C. § 2612(a). The covered reasons are the birth of a child and bonding, placement of a child through adoption or foster care, a serious health condition of the employee, care for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition, and certain qualifying needs arising from a family member’s military active duty.

A separate entitlement of up to 26 workweeks in a single 12-month period applies to an eligible employee caring for a covered servicemember with a serious injury or illness, described in 29 CFR § 825.100. When both apply in the same year, the combined total is capped at 26 weeks.

FMLA leave is unpaid. You may choose, or the employer may require you, to use accrued paid vacation, personal, or sick leave during the FMLA period, but the leave itself carries no separate pay. When the need is medically necessary, leave can be taken intermittently or on a reduced schedule rather than all at once.

How to request FMLA leave from your employer

There is no government form you file to start FMLA leave and no agency you apply to. You request the leave directly from your employer. The steps below follow the notice rules in 29 CFR § 825.302.

1. Confirm you meet the eligibility rules

   Check the three requirements in 29 CFR § 825.110: 12 months of employment, 1,250 hours in the prior year, and a worksite with 50 or more employees within 75 miles. Eligibility is measured as of the day the leave is to begin, so a worker who is close to 12 months can become eligible partway through an absence.

2. Give your employer notice of the need for leave

   When the leave is foreseeable, such as a scheduled birth, an adoption, or planned surgery, you provide at least 30 days advance notice before the leave begins. When 30 days is not practicable, for example a medical emergency, notice is given as soon as practicable, which usually means the same day or the next business day after you learn of the need.

3. Explain enough for the employer to recognize FMLA may apply

   The first time you request leave for a qualifying reason, you do not have to name the FMLA or cite the statute. You give enough detail, verbally or in writing, for the employer to see that the absence may qualify, such as that you are pregnant, hospitalized, or caring for a family member under a doctor’s care. The employer may then ask follow-up questions and request certification.

4. Follow the employer's usual call-in procedure

   The employer may require you to follow its normal notice and procedural rules for requesting leave, such as calling a specific number or contacting a named person, absent unusual circumstances. Following the routine process helps avoid a delay in the leave.

Medical certification and the notices your employer must send

For leave based on a serious health condition, the employer may require a medical certification from a health care provider. The Department of Labor publishes optional certification forms for this purpose, including form WH-380-E for an employee’s own condition and WH-380-F for a family member’s condition, though an employer may use its own equivalent form.

Under 29 CFR § 825.305, the employer generally requests certification within five business days of your leave request, and you must return a complete and sufficient certification within 15 calendar days unless it is not practicable to do so despite your good-faith efforts. If the certification is incomplete or unclear, the employer tells you in writing what is missing and gives you at least seven calendar days to fix it.

The obligations run both ways. Under 29 CFR § 825.300, the employer must give you an eligibility notice within five business days after you request leave, along with a written notice of your rights and responsibilities. Once the employer has enough information to decide, it must send a designation notice within five business days telling you whether the leave is approved as FMLA and how much of your 12-week entitlement it will use.

Job protection and returning to work

FMLA leave is job-protected. At the end of the leave you generally have the right to return to the same position, or an equivalent one with the same pay, benefits, and working conditions, under 29 U.S.C. § 2614. Group health coverage continues during the leave on the same terms as if you had kept working, per 29 CFR § 825.100.

These protections matter in Pennsylvania because Pennsylvania is an at-will employment state, where an employer can otherwise end employment for almost any reason. FMLA is one of the exceptions: an employer may not interfere with FMLA rights or fire a worker for taking or requesting protected leave. Retaliation for using FMLA can support a claim of wrongful termination in Pennsylvania even in an at-will workplace.

If employment does end during or after FMLA leave, the timing rules for a departing worker’s wages still apply. When and how your last wages must be paid is covered by Pennsylvania’s final paycheck law, which operates separately from the FMLA. An employee who believes an employer denied or interfered with FMLA rights can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division or bring a private lawsuit.