The FMLA's Interaction With Other State and Federal Laws

Author: Michelle Barrett Falconer and Alexis C. Knapp, Littler

The FMLA regulations and guidance offered by the Department of Labor (DOL) provide fairly specific rules to follow in the administration of FMLA leave. Although these rules govern how the FMLA leave itself should work, they do not cover all of the other - and often concurrent - employment-related obligations that employers may have. Most commonly, this intersection of rights has been referred to in publications and presentations as "The Bermuda Triangle," and typically includes a discussion of FMLA, the ADA and workers' compensation laws. Importantly, however, the overlaps are far more extensive than the prior "triangle" we have all become so familiar with suggests.

The following chart is a brief introduction to the FMLA's interplay with state and federal law, and summarizes many of the questions and issues that arise under various employment laws and obligations when employees seek, take and return from FMLA-type leaves. Each of these issues is covered in greater detail in The Bermuda Triangle Has Expanded: The FMLA's Intersection With the ADA, Workers' Compensation and More - Legal Insight.