Family and Medical Leave

Family and Medical Leave: A Patchwork of Job Protection and Wage Replacement

Few areas of employment law are as easy to get confused as family and medical leave — mostly because “leave” actually means several different things depending on which law you’re talking about. Some laws only guarantee that your job will be waiting for you; others actually pay you a portion of your wages while you’re out. Federal law, DC law, and Maryland law each layer their own rules on top of one another, and getting the details right matters. This page gives an overview of the major frameworks. Each links to a dedicated page with a deeper look at that specific law.

Federal Law: The FMLA — Job Protection, Not Pay

The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) guarantees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year for your own serious health condition, to care for a family member with a serious health condition, for the birth or placement of a child, or for certain military family circumstances — with up to 26 weeks available specifically to care for a covered servicemember. Eligibility depends on meeting three separate requirements: 12 months of employment, 1,250 hours worked in the preceding year, and working at a location where your employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles. The FMLA is unpaid on its own — it only guarantees that your job (or an equivalent one) will be there when you return. Learn more about federal FMLA rights.

DC: Two Different Laws, Easy to Confuse

DC has two separate leave laws that serve very different purposes, and conflating them is one of the most common mistakes people make in this area. The Universal Paid Leave Act (administered as DC Paid Family Leave) actually pays you partial wage replacement, funded through an employer payroll tax, with no minimum employer size requirement. The DC Family and Medical Leave Act (DCFMLA), by contrast, only guarantees job-protected leave — it doesn’t pay you anything — and only applies to employers with 20 or more employees. You can be entitled to one without the other, depending on your employer’s size and which specific benefit you’re looking for. Learn more about DC family and medical leave.

Maryland: An Existing Gap-Filler, and a Major New Program on the Way

Maryland currently has a narrower unpaid leave law (the Maryland Parental Leave Act) that fills a specific gap left by the federal FMLA for employees of mid-sized employers. But the far bigger development is Maryland’s new Family and Medical Leave Insurance program (FAMLI) — a genuinely significant paid leave program currently rolling out, with payroll contributions beginning January 2027 and benefits becoming available in January 2028. This is one of the most consequential employment law changes coming to Maryland in years, and it’s worth understanding well before it takes effect. Learn more about Maryland family and medical leave, including FAMLI.

Which Laws Apply to You?

“Job-protected” and “paid” are not the same thing. A law can guarantee your job is safe without paying you a cent while you’re out, and a separate law can pay you without necessarily guaranteeing your specific job back. Understanding which guarantee a given law actually provides — job protection, wage replacement, or both — matters enormously.
These laws can, and often do, run concurrently. If you qualify for both a paid leave program and a job-protection law for the same absence, they generally run at the same time rather than stacking on top of each other — meaning your paid leave benefit and your job-protected leave entitlement are typically being used up simultaneously, not one after the other.
Employer size thresholds vary significantly by law. The federal FMLA requires 50 or more employees; DC’s DCFMLA requires 20 or more; DC’s Paid Family Leave and Maryland’s upcoming FAMLI program have no minimum size at all. Whether you’re covered by a particular law often depends entirely on your specific employer’s size, not just where you work.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I qualify for FMLA leave?

Generally, you need to have worked for your employer for at least 12 months, worked at least 1,250 hours in the preceding year, and work at a location where your employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles. See our federal FMLA page for the full eligibility rules, including a common misconception about what “50 employees” actually requires.

Is FMLA leave paid?

No, federal FMLA leave is unpaid on its own — it only guarantees your job will be protected while you’re out. However, DC’s Universal Paid Leave Act and Maryland’s upcoming FAMLI program both provide actual wage replacement for overlapping situations. See our DC and Maryland pages for how paid leave works in each jurisdiction.

Can I be fired while on FMLA leave?

Generally, no — FMLA guarantees you’ll be restored to the same or an equivalent position when your leave ends. There are narrow exceptions, such as a layoff that would have happened regardless of your leave, but using FMLA leave itself cannot be the reason for termination.

Can I take FMLA leave in small increments instead of all at once?

Yes, where medically necessary, you can take FMLA leave intermittently or on a reduced schedule for your own or a family member’s serious health condition. Intermittent leave for bonding with a new child, however, generally requires your employer’s agreement.

Related Practice Areas

Your situation may also involve one of these related areas of employment law:

Talk to a Family and Medical Leave Attorney

Whether you’ve been denied leave you believe you were entitled to, discouraged from taking leave, or retaliated against for using it, Wilkenfeld Law Office can help you understand which of these overlapping laws actually applies to your situation.

Or call 301.245.3035 · Intake@WilkenfeldLO.com

This article provides general information and is not legal advice. Contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Reviewed by Ari Wilkenfeld, Esq. (DC Bar No. 461063; MD Bar No. 9806240300). Ari has over 27 years of experience litigating in federal and state courts, and before the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), and various arbitration panels. Ari has been recognized by Esquire Magazine as “a famously determined Civil Rights lawyer” and by the New York Post as “a high powered DC Lawyer.” Last updated: August 28, 2026.