Federal, exists in every state
Job-protected time off to care for your child (FMLA)
Federal law: up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave a year with the job and the health plan kept, for eligible workers at larger employers.
What it is
Federal law: up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave a year with the job and the health plan kept, for eligible workers at larger employers.
FMLA protects the job and keeps the health plan during up to 12 weeks of leave a year, and a reduced schedule counts as leave when the care team says it is medically necessary. HR must confirm 12 months with the employer, 1,250 hours in the past year and 50 employees within 75 miles of the worksite; knowing the company’s size is not enough. Federal FMLA is unpaid. Wisconsin’s separate leave law is also unpaid; employer paid-leave benefits need their own review.
Eligibility rules
- 12 months with the employer, 1,250 hours in the preceding year, and 50 employees within 75 miles of the worksite.
- Leave can be intermittent or a reduced schedule when medically necessary; the clinical team describes the need.
- Self-employed and gig work are not covered; a second working parent’s job can be checked separately.
What you get
- The job held and the group health plan continued, on the usual premium share, for up to 12 weeks a year.
- Intermittent leave for clinic days and treatment blocks.
Pay
- Federal FMLA pays nothing. Wisconsin’s own law allows up to two weeks a calendar year for a child’s serious illness, running with federal leave when both apply.
If you decide to apply
- Ask HR for an FMLA eligibility check and the medical-certification form.
- Ask the oncology team to complete the certification, describing the reduced schedule and clinic days.
- Discuss notice with HR promptly. If leave has already begun, ask whether qualifying earlier leave can be designated retroactively; the notice and retroactive-designation rules apply.
U.S. Department of Labor: FMLA · Official page ↗
After you apply
- Keep paying your share of the health-plan premium during leave.
- Ask HR how federal leave, Wisconsin leave and any employer paid leave run together.
Good to know
Ask HR for the FMLA forms before any decision to stop work altogether. Protected leave keeps the job and the health plan; resignation does not.
Other details
- Military service uses military leave rules.
Official sources
“What are the benefits and drawbacks of taking federal and Wisconsin leave, and could you help us get an eligibility check from HR?”
Why I’m asking: We need the job and the health plan protected if a parent works less.
More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules
Who does what
The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.
You
Ask human resources for the forms, give the certification to the clinic, and keep copies of every notice.
Your social worker
The social worker sends the medical certification to the clinician who signs it and confirms the treatment calendar.
The care team
Completes the medical certification, including intermittent leave for clinic days and admissions.
- Who decides
- The employer (HR), under the federal law
- Ask HR
- “I need FMLA leave to care for my child with leukemia. Can you send me the eligibility notice and the medical certification form, and confirm I can take the leave intermittently?”
How to apply
First step: Ask HR for FMLA forms this week. Give the medical certification to the oncology team to complete.
- Ask HR for the forms this week.
- Ask for intermittent leave in the certification.
- Ask what paid leave can run alongside.
Where it starts: Request the forms from HR. Certification from the oncology team
What to gather
- Employer size and your start date
- The FMLA medical certification form (WH-380-F) from HR
- A treatment calendar from the clinic
How long: human resources must answer in writing once it knows the leave is for a serious condition. Ask for the eligibility notice by name.
What a yes looks like
A written eligibility notice and a designation notice saying which absences count as FMLA.
What a no looks like, and the next move
“Not covered” (under 50 people, under a year, under 1,250 hours): ask what the employer's own policy allows and check the state leave law. Many are broader.
Watch out
- Ask for intermittent leave in the certification so clinic days and admissions can each be leave days.
- FMLA is unpaid. Ask human resources what paid leave, short-term disability or a state program can run alongside.
- The 50-people test is within 75 miles of your worksite. A big company with a small local office can still count.
- A separate disability-discrimination rule protects against unequal treatment because of your child’s disability. It does not create a general right to a caregiver schedule change. Keep leave requests, schedules and the employer’s replies.
The numbers and the rules
The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 10, 2026.
What it is worth
Up to 12 workweeks per 12-month period, in one block or a day at a time, with the health plan continued and the job restored.
Legal protection: 12 workweeks of leave per 12-month period · Continuous, intermittent or reduced-schedule leave · Group health coverage continued on the same terms · Job restoration on return
What it costs the family: Unpaid unless paired with employer or state benefits.
The eligibility facts, as published
- Employer size
- 50 or more employees within 75 miles
- Tenure months
- 12
- Hours last 12 months
- 1250
Decisions this site cannot make: Employee and employer coverage · Medical certification from the clinician
Expect friction on: Certification deadlines · Intermittent scheduling
The trap: Job protection, wage replacement and the premium are three separate things. Ask human resources what paid leave, short-term disability or a state program can run alongside.
What changes by state: Some states add paid family leave and a broader job-protection law (California CFRA from 5 employees. Georgia's Family Care Act from 25).
Where I read this
- Family and Medical Leave Act — U.S. Department of Labor, read August 27, 2026