Taking a leave of absence in Texas involves many of the same considerations as in any other state: Who is eligible for leave? How many days or weeks of leave are available? Is it paid or unpaid leave? Since Texas doesn't have any comprehensive leave laws of its own, many leaves of absence in Texas will fall under the criteria of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and your organization’s leave policy.
Here's what you need to know about personal leave, medical leave, and military leave under FMLA in Texas, as well as any other leave laws that might apply.
Types of Leave of Absence in Texas
The types of leave that are available to employees in Texas are similar to the categories of leave available in other states. Here are some of the most common examples:
- Family and medical leave involves time off work to care for an ill or injured family member, or to treat the employee’s own serious health condition. This usually differs from ordinary sick leave in terms of pay and duration.
- Parental leave includes time off work to bond with a newborn child, or to deal with the adoption of a child or arrival into foster care.
- Personal leave refers to leave taken for personal reasons that may or may not be covered by employment law, such as sabbatical leave.
- Military leave refers to a leave of absence related to an employee’s military duty, while military caregiver leave is taken to care for an injured service member.
These are just a few examples of leaves of absence in Texas, several of which may be governed by one or more federal laws.
If an employee qualifies for job-protected leave, then they must be allowed to return to the same job or an equivalent position. If a type of leave isn’t covered by employment law, the employer has more discretion as to whether or not to approve it.
Who Can Take a Leave of Absence in Texas?
Eligibility for a leave of absence in Texas depends on the type of leave requested. For example, FMLA leave is available to employees who meet the following criteria as set out by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL.gov):
- Works for a school; a public agency; or a private-sector employer with at least 50 employees in a 75-mile radius of the employee’s work location
- Has a qualifying medical reason; a newborn child or foster child; or a qualifying exigency related to active duty military service
- Has worked for the employer for at least 12 months; and has performed at least 1,250 hours of work for the employer in total
Both full-time and part-time employees may be entitled to FMLA leave benefits. Eligible employees can take up to 12 workweeks of leave in a 12-month period, or 26 weeks of leave to care for an immediate family member under military family leave. Employees are entitled to keep their health insurance benefits during the FMLA leave period.
Employees who don’t qualify for FMLA leave may still have other leave entitlements, including ADA leave under the Americans with Disabilities Act. They may also have accrued sick leave, paid time off (PTO), or vacation time under their organization’s employee leave policy, although this won’t come with any job protections.
Understanding the Texas Payday Law
Since Texas doesn’t have a family medical leave act of its own, you might think that the only laws you need to worry about are federal ones. But there’s at least one law related to leaves of absence in Texas that you need to follow: the Texas Payday Law.
This law spells out employee rights related to “certain fringe benefits required by the employer’s policy or through an agreement with the employer.”
In other words, it requires employers to honor their policies related to employee leave and other benefits, even if an employee is on unpaid leave. For example, an employee could request to access their sick pay or vacation time while on FMLA leave, and their employer would be required to provide it.
So while a leave of absence in Texas is usually unpaid, employees may be entitled to some short-term pay if they have accrued leave or other employee benefits.
What About Employers Who Aren’t Covered by FMLA?
Under FMLA, a “covered employer” must have at least 50 employees working within a 75-mile radius of the employee’s location for them to receive benefits. How does this affect smaller employers who may not be covered by FMLA?
In general, employers can choose whether or not to offer a family and medical leave policy of their own. If an employer has more than 15 employees, Texas law requires them to provide the same benefits to parents of foster children that they do to other parents, such as “personal leave to care for … the employee’s sick child.”
Additionally, if an employer is injured on the job, they may be covered by workers’ compensation or short-term disability leave. Although workers’ compensation isn’t required in Texas, it may be a good idea to avoid business liability issues.
Leave of Absence Best Practices
Honoring leave of absence laws in Texas is a matter of HR compliance, as well as a factor in employee retention. Having clear policies and procedures that are easy for employees to understand helps maintain employee satisfaction. Follow these best practices when administering a leave of absence in Texas:
1. Create a personal leave policy
Having a personal leave of absence policy in your employee handbook ensures that employees know what to expect when requesting a leave of absence. Are leaves of absence paid or unpaid? Do you offer leave benefits above and beyond FMLA?
By having an employee leave policy, you’ll ensure that your human resources team honors any fringe benefits as required by the Texas Payday Law.
2. Track leave accurately
Leave of absence tracking is key to ensuring that employees don’t exceed their leave entitlements in a given period — especially if they’re on intermittent leave. This type of leave applies when an employee breaks up their leave period into smaller increments, such as for multiple but infrequent visits to a health care provider.
Use a leave management platform like Pulpstream to track continuous and intermittent leave balances, as well as accrued sick time and other employee absences.
3. Keep it confidential
Employers are allowed to request documentation to verify an employee’s leave request, but must adhere to FMLA confidentiality rules. This includes storing medical documents separately from other files, and only sharing information on a need-to-know basis.
Pulpstream’s cloud-based platform allows employees to submit their own leave requests online to protect their privacy. Employers can request supporting documents if required, and employees can upload them seamlessly using a secure online portal.
How Pulpstream Can Automate Employee Leave Requests
Understanding leaves of absence in Texas is important if you want to improve employee retention and meet your obligations as an employer. But with the Texas Payday Law, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and other employment laws all coming into play, it can be hard for your human resources team to get it right.
Pulpstream’s cloud-based leave of absence automation platform takes the guesswork out of the process by verifying leave of absence requests against a custom rule engine. Determine which employment laws apply, confirm employee eligibility, and track leave balances to simplify the leave of absence process and ensure HR compliance.
Request a demo today to see how Pulpstream can save you time and money.
