FMLA and Pregnant Teen Dependent

josei23

I have a question on caring for a family member through the FMLA. I have an employee who has a teen daughter who is pregnant and due in January. She came in to me and asked if she could take time under the FML to spend to care for her daughter when the baby is born, as she has no one else.

Do you believe this would be covered? Or would there have to be a medical problem with the delivery? Would a dr's note saying she needs to be cared for by her mother after delivery be sufficent if there were no problems?

Thanks!

Whatever

You don't say how old the teenager is. There is a vast difference between a 13 year old and a 19 year old. Furthermore, you don't state how long the ee needs off. If the doctor states she is needed to care for her daughter, there could be very valid reasons. Particularly if the daughter is very young, there could be emotional issues.

josei23

I apologize - she just turned 18, and the ee is only looking for a couple of weeks, but I was not sure if I could put it under FMLA. Even though she isn't a really young teenager, there are emotional issues there also. Thanks so much for your help!

Don D

I'm going to disagree with the other post. Her age matters not. Had this exact situation two years ago. As in all FMLA cases, if the child is unable to care for him/herself (just like the adult child with a brain tumor), FMLA is appropriate for the time of incapacity. The doctor will probably also indicate that the family member's presence will contribute to the emotional well-being of the new mother. I can't see that two weeks would be appropriate though. Perhaps at the hospital for the birth, or even intermittently prior to birth, and through the brief period of incapacity once home. Then it's not FMLA unless the daughter is under 18 and has a serious health condition beyond delivery. Just my opinion, but we wrestled through this one exactly on the Forum awhile back and as I recall this was the general concensus and is what resulted.

josei23

Thanks Don -

That was my gut feeling too - that during the *actual incapacity* then it may be covered but didn't think that after the first couple of days it would. Thanks so much for your input! I appreciate it!

Whatever

I basically agree with you...but....no two situations are exactly the same. I have had ees whose teenage daughters breezed through the pregnancy, delivery and had no period of capacity. I have also had ees whose teenage daughters were very emotionally fragile after the delivery. Two weeks for an absolutely normal delivery with no complications is long. However, if a doctor indicates the mother is needed to give emotional support for two weeks, I don't know if I would deny it. Sometimes, I just don't know where to draw the line.

marc

Drawing lines is difficult - and some companies will go further than the law requires. This always brings in the consistency issues about doing the same for all of the EEs, not just the bosses favorite.

As Don correctly pointed out, the over 18 issue takes FMLA out of the picture unless the child is incapable of self-care due to mental or physical disability. The mother could have qualified for some FML related leave before her daughter turned 18, but not after. Anything after is your company policy going beyond FML requirements.