This Advisor helps employers and employees understand leave employees may be entitled to take for purposes of managing medical conditions and disabilities. To do this, it asks a series of questions to determine which of several federal employment laws—each of which may provide for such leave under certain circumstances—apply to an employee’s employer. These laws include the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other disability nondiscrimination laws under which leave may be considered a reasonable accommodation.

It is important to note that this Advisor addresses these laws in the context of medical- and disability-related leave only. It does not provide comprehensive information about employee and employer rights and responsibilities under them. It also does not determine employee eligibility under the FMLA or whether an employee is a qualified person with a disability under disability nondiscrimination laws. Furthermore, it is important to note that there may be federal workers’ compensation laws, state workers’ compensation laws or state disability nondiscrimination laws that provide for leave related to an injury, medical condition or chronic illness.

The Medical- and Disability-Related Leave Advisor is one of a series of elaws Advisors (Employment Laws Assistance for Workers and Small Businesses) developed by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to help employers and employees understand their rights and responsibilities under federal employment laws. It was developed jointly by DOL’s Office of Disability Employment Policy and Wage and Hour Division.

For more comprehensive information about disability nondiscrimination laws—not limited to the issue of medical- and disability-related leave—visit the Disability Nondiscrimination Law Advisor. For more comprehensive information about the FMLA, including how to determine employee eligibility, visit the FMLA Advisor. To view the entire list of elaws Advisors, visit the elaws website.