President Obama Signs New Law Expanding FMLA Coverage

November 02, 2009

Raymond W. Bertrand and Maria A. Audero

President Obama signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 (H.R. 2647) (NDAA 2010) on October 30, 2009. The NDAA 2010 further expands the coverage of leaves under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) available to military families. Under legislation passed by Congress in 2008, the FMLA was amended to create leave protections for military-related exigencies and military caregivers. These leave protections were available only to families of servicemembers in the National Guard or Reserve branches of the Armed Forces. Through the NDAA 2010, Congress expanded the reach of these military-related leaves to families of servicemembers in a regular component of the Armed Forces. In addition, the new law provides additional rights for family members of injured veterans to take military caregiver leave.

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