Gay employees are now entitled to unpaid leave to care for a partner's sick child. A new regulation issued by the Department of Labor extends the medical leave rights under the Family Medical Leave Act to nontraditional parents, including gay men and women.

Under the Family Medical Leave Act, eligible workers (at businesses with 50 or more employees) have the right to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for ailing loved ones, sons and daughters or themselves. Previously, employers interpreted "sons and daughters" as an employee's own sick, newly born or adopted children; but the Department of Labor has determined that the act now applies to all types of nontraditional parents, including grandparents, step-parents and gay, lesbian and transgendered workers responsible for their partner's children.

Because employees are no longer required to have a biological relationship with or legal guardianship of their children to be eligible for extended leave, employers will have to take extra steps to make sure their rights are administered correctly.

There are five steps all covered employers should take to comply with the new regulation:

1. Check into the details of the regulation and any new requirements for compliance.

2. Rewrite company policies to ensure all newly eligible employees are granted their rights.

3. Communicate any new company policies to all employees.

4. Train all managers, supervisors and human resource executives on what the changes entail.

5. Implement new policies consistently.

Though Family Medical Leave Act rights do not yet extend to gay employees' sick partners, these recent changes could lead the way to such a regulation. Employers should stay abreast of changes to federal employment laws and adjust all policies to comply with the most recent regulations.

-- Jane Lewis Volk
Meyer Unkovic & Scott
jlv@muslaw.com

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