adoption
patricialynn
6 Posts
We have a male employee who is adopting two children from Russia. He has four weeks of vacation and is planning to use it for two trips to Russia to deal with the red tape involved with this type of an adoption. He is also requesting two weeks of leave once the children are here to help with adjustment. It is my understanding that fathers are entitled to one week of FML to care for a new child. We are unsure of how to classify the remaining week. Can we offer another week of FML due to his circumstances? He does have several weeks of sick leave. Thanks for any advice offered.
Comments
"The FMLA allows employees to take up to 12 weeks off to attend to matters relating to the adoption or foster-care placement of a child. Employees do not have to wait for the adoption to become final before they can take leave.They are eligible when they first begin taking care of the child, even if it takes much longer to get the adoption finalized by a court of law.
"Adopting parents can also take FMLA leave if they must be absent from work to attend a meeting or counseling session attendant to adopting the child. Parents also qualify for FMLA leave time if they need to travel to pick up the
child. Whether the child will be adopted from a placement or government agency is not a prerequisite to getting the time off."
I think that means he'd be covered for the trips to Russia.
And if you, as the employer, start the clock running when he leaves - even if that period is also covered by his vacation time - you can limit the total to a mere 12 weeks.
Brad Forrister
Director of Publishing
M. Lee Smith Publishers