Sportslaw Jargon: Family Leave Act

Sportslaw Jargon: Family and Medical Leave Act

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was enacted in 1993 to protect workers from losing their jobs if certain medical and other family emergencies occur. The law requires many companies to grant up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave annually to employees who need to deal with the illness of family members or the birth or adoption of a child. Exempt from the requirement are businesses with fewer than 50 employees. Because women traditionally have taken time off for pregnancy and family emergencies, about 60 percent of those granted unpaid absences under its provisions have been women.

The rise of women's professional sports has raised an issue of the applicability of the law. The WNBA, the most well-known women's professional league, is clearly an employer under the definitions of the FMLA. "Employer" means any person engaged in commerce or in any industry or activity affecting commerce who employs 50 or more employees for each working day during each of the 20 or more calendar workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year.

The FMLA defines an "eligible employee" as an employee who has been employed--(1) for at least 12 months by the employer and (2) for at least 1250 hours of service with such employer during the previous 12-month period. The one-year requirement is very straight forward. However, the problem facing the women are do they qualify for the 1250 hours of labor?

During the four-month season the women, it is not likely that players accumulate the 1250 service hours required. But if one looks at training camp and off-season training, the threshold may be reached.