Family and Medical Leave Act

Under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), MSU provides eligible employees job-protected leave for specified reasons.

Please send questions to hrm-fmla@hrm.msstate.edu

Who is Eligible?

Effective January 1, 2026, an employee is eligible if they have worked for the university for at 12 months and for 1,250 hours during the previous 12 months. This threshold is administered in accordance with the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 and all other applicable federal and state laws.

The 1,250 hours include only those hours actually worked for the employer. Holidays, paid leave and unpaid leave, including FMLA leave, are not included.

What FMLA Provides

FMLA requires employers to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave* to an eligible employee for the following reasons:
- The birth of a son or daughter, and to bond with the newborn child
- The placement with the employee of a child for adoption or foster care, and to bond with that child
- To care for an immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent – but not a parent “in-law”) with a serious health condition
- To take medical leave when the employee is unable to work because of a serious health condition
- Qualifying exigencies arising out of the fact that the employee’s spouse, son, daughter, or parent is on covered active duty or call to covered active-duty status as a member of the National Guard, Reserves, or Regular Armed Forces.
It requires group health benefits to be maintained during the leave as if the employee continued to work instead of taking leave.
The employee is also entitled to return to their same or an equivalent job at the end of their FMLA leave.

*At MSU, an employee may also be eligible for other types of leave, including personal leave, major medical leave, paid parental leave, etc.

Effective January 1, 2026, during the employee's approved FMLA period (calendar year), the employee is required to use accrued personal and major medical leave concurrently with FMLA before moving into FMLA leave without pay status.

How does an employee provide notice of FMLA.

The University expects a 30-day notice of all types of FMLA leave if the leave is foreseeable. For unforeseen circumstances, the University expects as much notice as practicable.

You can request coverage of FMLA in the following ways:

Electronically (link coming soon)
Communicate the need for FMLA to your Supervisor
Call HRM Leave Specialist at 662-325-3713

To take or use leave associated with FMLA, follow the procedures on the leave page

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a serious health condition?

The most common serious health conditions that qualify for FMLA leave are:

Conditions requiring an overnight stay in a hospital or other medical care facility.
Conditions that incapacitate you or your family member (for example, unable to work or attend school) for more than three consecutive days and have ongoing medical treatment (either multiple appointments with a health care provider, or a single appointment and follow-up care such as prescription medication);
Chronic conditions that cause occasional periods when you or your family member are incapacitated and require treatment by a health care provider at least twice a year; and
Pregnancy (including prenatal medical appointments, incapacity due to morning sickness, and medically required bed rest)

Is an employer required to pay an employee when they take FMLA?

The FMLA only requires unpaid leave. However, the law permits an employee to elect, or the employer to require the employee, to use accrued paid vacation leave, paid sick or family leave for some or all of the FMLA leave period. An employee must follow the employer’s normal leave rules in order to substitute paid leave. When paid leave is used for an FMLA-covered reason, the leave is FMLA-protected.

Does an employee have to take leave all at once or can it be taken periodically or to reduce my schedule?

Eligible employees may take FMLA intermittently (in blocks of time), or by reducing their normal schedule, when medically necessary for their own or an immediate family member’s serious health condition or for the serious injury or illness of a service member. Employees who require intermittent or reduced-schedule leave should try to schedule their leave to minimize disruption of their unit’s operations.

Is an employee required to prove that they have a serious health condition?

The employee is responsible for providing the University with sufficient information on the University’s medical certification or comparable form from a health care provider, if applicable, for determining if the requested leave is covered by Family and Medical Leave.

What happens if the employer says an employee's medical certification is incomplete or insufficient?

An employer must advise the employee if it finds the certification is incomplete and allow the employee a reasonable opportunity to cure the deficiency. The employer must state in writing what additional information is necessary to make the certification complete and sufficient and must allow the employee at least seven calendar days to cure the deficiency, unless seven days is not practicable under particular circumstances despite the employee’s diligent good faith efforts.

Can an employer require employees to submit a fitness-for-duty certification before returning to work after being absent due to a serious health condition?

Yes. As a condition of restoring an employee who was absent on FMLA leave due to the employee’s own serious health condition, an employer may have a uniformly applied policy or practice that requires all similarly situated employees who take leave for such conditions to submit a certification from the employee’s own health care provider that the employee is able to resume work. Under the regulations, an employer may require that the fitness-for-duty certification address the employee's ability to perform the essential functions of the position if the employer has appropriately notified the employee that this information will be required and has provided a list of essential functions. Additionally, an employer may require a fitness-for-duty certification up to once every 30 days for an employee taking intermittent or reduced schedule FMLA leave if reasonable safety concerns exist regarding the employee's ability to perform his or her duties based on the condition for which leave was taken.

If an employee fails to submit a properly requested medical certification in a timely manner (absent sufficient explanation of the delay), FMLA protection for the leave may be delayed or denied. If the employee never provides a medical certification, then the leave may not be designated as FMLA leave.

If an employee fails to submit a properly requested fitness-for-duty certification, the employer may delay job restoration until the employee provides the certification. If the employee never provides the certification, he or she may be denied reinstatement.

What is the supervisor and department's role in the FMLA process?

As soon as the supervisor and/or department has enough information that indicates an employee's need for leave may be for an FMLA-qualifying reason, the department must initiate the required notifications.
The department is responsible for communicating the process and procedures for requesting FMLA to the employee OR complete the request for FMLA on behalf of the employee.
A supervisor is not allowed to request access to an employee’s medical condition or symptoms.

What happens when FMLA is exhausted?

If the employee returns to regularly scheduled hours when FMLA is exhausted, no action is needed.

If the employee is unable to return to their regularly scheduled hours after their FMLA time is exhausted, please notify the FMLA and Leave Specialist at 662-325-3713.