Updated edition of FMLA Handbook Now Available

Dear AAUP Member:

Every year, we receive many inquiries from professors, administrators, and lawyers about the application of the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to faculty members. To clarify how to apply the FMLA in academic settings, the AAUP produces a guidebook, authored by attorney Kathi Westcott and economics professor Saranna Thornton and now available online in an updated edition. The guidebook is broken into sections in which specific mandates are introduced and explained through a series of questions and answers. We are pleased to be able to offer this guidebook as a benefit to AAUP members—one of many examples of your dues dollars at work.

In 1993, Congress enacted the FMLA to promote family stability and economic security by making it easier for employees to integrate work and family responsibilities. Subsequent emendations of the law and associated regulations have added leave entitlements for qualifying military exigencies and for family members to care for military service members seriously injured in the line of duty. Congress intended the FMLA to maximize workplace efficiency, to minimize employment discrimination based on gender and pregnancy, and to promote equal employment opportunities for women and men.

Have questions or comments? Please e-mail Anita Levy at alevy@aaup.org.