Employers subject to federal Family Medical Leave Act:

• private employers with at least 50 employees
• local, state, and federal government agency employers regardless of size
• elementary and secondary schools regardless of size (special rules for local schools)

Employer obligations:

• continue employee health insurance (employee may be required to make normal contributions)
• return employee to same or nearly identical job after FMLA leave (exception for certain “key” employees)
• cannot hold FMLA leave against the employee in hiring, promotions or discipline
• respond to employee FMLA leave request within 5 business days
• give employee notice of specific employee rights and responsibilites along with employer’s leave eligibility response
• medical certifications may be required

Employee eligibility requirements:

• must have worked for employer at least 12 months (seasonal work can qualify)
• must have worked at least 1250 hours in the 12 months before take leave under Family Medical Leave Act
• must work at a location where employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles of worksite
• special eligibility rules for airline flight attendants and flight crews

Family Medical Leave Act rules:

• up to 12 weeks unpaid FMLA leave in any 12 month period
• employee can use sick leave or vacation time along with FMLA leave to get paid for the duration of the paid leave benefits
• employer can require employee to use paid leave during FMLA leave
• use FMLA leave to care for spouse, child or parent who has serious health condition
• use FMLA leave for your own serious health condition when unable to work

What is considered a serious health condition?

• requires overnight stay in hospital or medical care facility
• incapacitates you or family member for more than 3 consecutive days and have ongoing medical treatment
• chronic condition that cause occasional periods of incapacity requiring treatment at least twice a year
• pregnancy including prenatal medical appointments, incapacity due to sickness, and medically required bed rest

Birth of a child:

• FMLA leave for birth of a child or for placement of a child for adoption or foster care
• men and women have same rights to FMLA leave to bond with child
• leave must be taken within one year of birth or placement
• leave must be taken as a continuous block of time unless employer agrees to allow intermittent leave such as part-time schedule

Military Family Leave:

• up to 26 weeks FMLA leave in a 12-month period to care for covered servicemember with serious injury or illness
• FMLA leave related to certain military deployments

Stepchildren and others included under FMLA:

• stepchildren and foster children
• legal wards (guardianships for minors)
• “in loco parentis”  – those with day-to-day responsibilities to care for and financially support a child with no biological or legal relationship

For a  summary of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for employees, see the following guide:

Family and Medical Leave Act Employee Guide – United States Department of Labor

For detailed federal regulations implementing the Family and Medical Leave Act, , see Code of Federal Regulations (CFR):

Title 29 – Labor – Part 825.

Many states also have laws covering family and medical leave for employees working in that state.  Contact Hindson & Melton LLC for assistance with your FMLA questions and compliance needs.
Karen S. Hindson    August 10, 2012

In order to qualify as a WOSB, the business must be woman-owned (51% or more) and controlled.  A woman must manage the business day-to-day, directly own the business, and make long term decisions.

In order to participate in WOSB opportunities, a WOSB must register in Central Contractor Registration (CCR) as a woman owned small business, and self-certify in the ORCA – Online Representations and Certifications system as a woman owned small business.  Documents verifying eligibility as a woman owned small business must be uploaded to the WOSB Program Repository.  Eligibility is required as of the date of initial offer on a government contract opportunity.  The SBA is authorized to conduct program examinations to verify the eligibility of a WOSB at any time, either on its own initiative or upon a protest from a competitor.

Under the WOSB Program, competition for specific government contracts may be restricted to WOSB in NAICS codes in which WOSB aresubstantially underrepresented.   A contracting officer may set-aside a contract for WOSB if the contracting officer has a reasonable expectation that two or more WOSBs will submit offers and the contract can be awarded at a fair and reasonable price.

The Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB) is a WOSB owned by one or more women with a personal net worth of less than $750,000 – excluding the value of the business, primary residence, and retirement of the owner.  The woman’s 3-year average income cannot exceed $350,000; and the fair market value of all assets cannot exceed $6 million.  For more details, see 13 CFR Part 127.

Competition for a specific contract may be restricted to EDWOSB is NAICS codes in which women-owned small business concerns areunderrepresented.

To review the affected industry codes for industries in which WOSB are underrepresented or substantially underrepresented, see www.sba.gov/WOSB.

Contact us for assistance with your WOSB or EDWOSB.

Congress has established statutory and aspirational goals designed to help small businesses compete for government contracts. Goals: 23% of all prime contracting dollars to small business, 3% participation by small businesses in HUBZones, 5% participation by small businesses owned by women, 5% so socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, and 3% to service-disabled veterans.

The task force is to provide proposals and recommendations for using innovative strategies such as teaming to increase opportunities, removing barriers by unbundling large projects, expanding outreach to match firms with contracting and subcontracting opportunities, and establishing policies to assist with the objectives. The memorandum also directs development of a web site to improve transparency and accountability.

For more information on government contracts contracting and subcontracting opportunities for small businesses, contact Karen S. Hindson of Hindson & Melton LLC.