In Indiana, taking time off work to bond with a new child, care for a sick family member, or perform military service isn’t just an optional benefit — it may be an employee right. But which leave laws cover military, medical, and parental leave in Indiana? And how many workweeks of leave are employees entitled to?
Since Indiana doesn’t have a comprehensive leave law of its own, most employers will be bound by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) in Indiana.
Here’s what employers need to know about FMLA rights and responsibilities, and how you can use leave of absence automation to navigate FMLA in Indiana.
What Is FMLA Indiana?
FMLA refers to the Family and Medical Leave Act, a federal law that applies to eligible employees throughout the U.S., including in Indiana. According to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL.gov) employees who meet the eligibility requirements can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in a single 12-month period for FMLA-qualifying reasons.
FMLA is a job-protected leave entitlement, which means that employees have the right to reinstatement in their job or an equivalent position when they return to work.
Although FMLA regulations don’t provide paid leave, employees may be able to use their paid time off (PTO) or other paid leave benefits when taking FMLA leave. They must also be allowed to keep their health insurance while on leave.
Types of FMLA Leave in Indiana
In order to qualify for FMLA in Indiana, an employee has to have a FMLA-qualifying reason to take leave. Here are three types of leave that might be covered:
Family leave
Family leave applies when an employee needs to take time off work to care for an ill or injured family member, such as the employee’s spouse or child. This can take the form of continuous or intermittent leave, depending on the nature of the condition.
FMLA also provides parental leave, which must be taken within one year following the birth of a child or the placement of a child in foster care.
Medical leave
Medical leave allows time off to address the employee's own serious health condition. Unlike sick leave, which is usually for short-term medical conditions, FMLA leave only applies to a serious injury, chronic condition, or incapacity.
Employees may need to provide additional information such as a medical certification from their health care provider when making this kind of FMLA leave request.
Military leave
Military leave can take several forms. An employee may be entitled to military caregiver leave — to take time off to care for a covered servicemember — or qualifying exigency leave related to active duty military service in the Armed Forces or National Guard.
Military caregiver leave comes with a longer leave allowance — 26 weeks of leave vs. 12 weeks for other FMLA-qualifying reasons.
Indiana also has its own military family leave law that provides up to 10 days of leave per calendar year for employees impacted by a family member’s military service.
Who Qualifies for FMLA in Indiana?
To qualify for FMLA leave in Indiana, an employee has to work for a “covered employer” and meet a few other conditions. The DOL defines a covered employer as:
- A local, state, or federal, government agency
- A public or private school or educational agency
- A private company with at least 50 employees
This means that state employees are eligible for FMLA, regardless of the size of their department, but employees of small businesses may not be covered.
In addition, employees need to meet their own eligibility requirements:
- Have worked for their employer for at least 12 months
- Have performed at least 1,250 hours of work in the past year
- Work at a location with at least 50 employees in a 75-mile radius
This means that an employee who works remotely in Fort Wayne may not be eligible for FMLA if all of their colleagues work from an office in Indianapolis. Employees who don’t qualify for leave under FMLA may still qualify for leave under other employment laws, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
FMLA In Indiana: Best Practices for Compliance
Understanding FMLA requirements can easily overwhelm your human resources team. Use a leave of absence management platform like Pulpstream to automatically assess employee eligibility. Our cloud-based platform reduces the amount of time it takes to process a leave request from a matter of hours to a matter of minutes.
Here are three ways Pulpstream helps save time and ensures compliance:
Documentation
Complying with the Family and Medical Leave Act involves the collection of various FMLA forms and documents. Employers may need to provide a FMLA designation notice, whether or not the employee has officially requested FMLA leave.
In turn, employees may need to provide a medical certification or other documents to substantiate their reason for leave.
Pulpstream makes it easy to collect these documents and store them securely with a cloud-based platform and self-service portal. Employees can log in to submit a leave request, upload supporting documents, and get updates by email or SMS.
Leave of absence tracking
Leave of absence tracking is how you account for FMLA leave in Indiana and ensure that you honor employees’ rights without exceeding their leave entitlements.
For example, if an employee needs to take intermittent leave, you’ll need to track it in the smallest available increment, which can be as little as 15 minutes. Additionally, an employee may qualify for multiple types of leave or draw from their sick time or paid leave balance while on FMLA leave.
When you use Pulpstream to streamline FMLA tracking, you’ll be able to account for every hour of FMLA leave. Employees can log in to see their own leave balance and check how many workweeks or calendar days of leave they have left.
Confidentiality
Honoring FMLA requires you to adhere to its confidentiality requirements, especially when it comes to medical documentation. Although employers can ask for additional information to support an employee’s leave request, they must store this information separately and only disclose it on a need-to-know basis.
Most team members don’t need to know why their colleague is on leave, unless the employee chooses to share it. Even managers only need to know basic information, such as how much time an employee needs to attend a medical appointment.
Pulpstream’s document management tools allow you to handle sensitive information securely, minimize paperwork, and avoid accidental disclosure.
Navigate FMLA in Indiana with Pulpstream
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal law that applies to employees in Indiana and may entitle them to take leave for family, medical, and military reasons. To qualify, an employee needs to work for a covered employer for at least 12 months and meet several other qualifying conditions.
FMLA provides up to 12 weeks of leave in a 12-month period, or 26 weeks for military caregiver leave. The state of Indiana also has its own leave law that provides up to 10 days of leave per calendar year for military family members.
Navigating FMLA in Indiana can be complicated — so use Pulpstream’s cloud-based platform to streamline the process for your HR team. Employees can submit their own leave requests and upload supporting documents, while your HR team members can easily approve or deny leave requests and track leave balances.
Request a demo today to see it in action and learn more!
