Taking Military Leave to Care for a Family Member: FMLA Rights and Options

Meta description: Learn how military caregiver leave works under the FMLA, who qualifies for up to 26 weeks of leave, how to apply, and what options may help when a family member needs care.

When a military service member is seriously injured or becomes ill, a relative may need time away from work to provide care. In the United States, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) may give eligible employees up to 26 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a single 12-month period to care for a covered servicemember. This special benefit is different from military leave taken by an employee who serves in the armed forces. Knowing which rules apply can help families make a plan and avoid missed deadlines.

What “Military Caregiver Leave” Means

Military caregiver leave is a specific form of FMLA leave. It allows an eligible employee to care for a covered current servicemember or qualifying veteran who has a serious injury or illness. The leave may be taken all at once, intermittently, or on a reduced schedule when medically necessary and properly supported.

The benefit is generally unpaid, but it protects the employee’s job and continuation of group health insurance under the same terms as if the employee were working. An employee may be able to use accrued paid leave during some or all of the FMLA period, subject to the employer’s policies and applicable law.

Important distinction: Military caregiver leave is not the same as time off for an employee’s own military service. Employees who leave civilian jobs for National Guard or Reserve duty may have separate protections under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). FMLA caregiver leave applies when an employee needs time to care for a qualifying injured or ill service member or veteran.

Who Can Take FMLA Military Caregiver Leave

To qualify for FMLA leave, an employee generally must work for a covered employer, have worked for that employer for at least 12 months, have at least 1,250 hours of service during the 12 months immediately before leave, and work at a location where the employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles. Special rules may apply to airline flight crews and certain public employees.

Covered employers generally include private-sector employers with at least 50 employees, public agencies, and public or private elementary and secondary schools. The employee’s eligibility is separate from the servicemember’s eligibility: the family member being cared for does not have to work for the employee’s employer.

Military caregiver leave has broader family-member rules than ordinary FMLA leave. An eligible employee may care for a servicemember who is the employee’s spouse, son or daughter, parent, or next of kin. “Next of kin” is generally the nearest blood relative other than the spouse, parent, son, or daughter, unless the servicemember has designated another blood relative in writing.

Which Service Members and Conditions Are Covered

Current members of the armed forces

A covered servicemember may be a current member of the Armed Forces, including the National Guard or Reserves, who is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy; is otherwise in outpatient status; or is on the temporary disability retired list for a serious injury or illness. The injury or illness must have been incurred in the line of duty on active duty, or existed before active duty and was aggravated in the line of duty, and it must make the member medically unfit to perform military duties.

The rule is not limited to combat injuries. A qualifying condition may result from an accident, illness, or other event connected to active duty, provided it meets the FMLA definition and medical requirements. A routine condition or injury that does not meet the serious-injury-or-illness standard does not automatically qualify.

Qualifying veterans

FMLA military caregiver leave can also cover care for a qualifying veteran who was a member of the Armed Forces, including the National Guard or Reserves, and was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable during the five-year period before the employee first takes leave to care for that veteran.

For a veteran, a serious injury or illness may be one incurred or aggravated in the line of duty on active duty and that manifested before or after the veteran left military service. The FMLA also recognizes certain conditions that existed before active duty and were aggravated in the line of duty. A health care provider’s certification is used to establish whether the veteran’s condition meets the applicable definition.

How Much Leave Is Available

An eligible employee may take up to 26 workweeks of military caregiver leave during a single 12-month period to care for one covered servicemember or veteran. The 12-month period is determined by the employer’s chosen FMLA method. It is not necessarily the calendar year; employers may use a fixed year, a rolling year measured forward, or a rolling year measured backward.

The 26-week allowance is a combined FMLA limit. During that same single 12-month period, an employee may take no more than 26 total workweeks for all FMLA reasons, including qualifying military caregiver leave and other FMLA leave. For example, time taken for a new child or the employee’s own serious health condition may count toward the overall 26-week maximum.

Military caregiver leave is limited to one 12-month period per covered servicemember, per serious injury or illness. An employee may be able to take another military caregiver leave period for a different servicemember or a different serious injury or illness, subject to FMLA rules and eligibility at that time.

What Care May Qualify

Care can include helping with medical treatment, recovery, or therapy; providing physical or psychological care; arranging for changes in living arrangements; or attending medical appointments. It may also include providing care when the servicemember needs assistance with basic daily activities, or when the employee’s presence is needed to help manage the effects of the serious condition.

Leave does not have to be taken in one continuous block. If medically necessary, an employee may request intermittent leave in separate blocks of time or a reduced work schedule. For example, an employee might need a recurring schedule for treatment visits or a temporary reduction in hours during recovery. Employers may request that the employee work with them to schedule foreseeable treatment in a way that minimizes disruption, while respecting the medical need.

How to Request Military Caregiver Leave

1. Notify the employer. Employees should explain that leave may qualify under the FMLA and give as much advance notice as practicable. When the need is foreseeable, 30 days’ notice is generally required if possible. Emergencies and sudden changes may make that impossible.
2. Follow the employer’s usual process. The employer may require a specific leave request form or call-in procedure. A request does not need to mention “FMLA” by name, but it must provide enough information for the employer to recognize that the leave could be protected.
3. Complete the medical certification. The employer may request certification from an authorized health care provider. For a current servicemember, the certification may come from an eligible Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, TRICARE, or other authorized provider. For a veteran, a provider as defined by FMLA rules may complete the certification.
4. Return requested paperwork on time. Employers generally must allow at least 15 calendar days to provide requested certification, unless it is not practicable despite diligent, good-faith efforts. The employee should contact the employer promptly if more time is needed.

The Department of Labor provides the optional form WH-385 for a current servicemember and WH-385-V for a qualifying veteran. Employers may use their own forms if they request no more information than the FMLA permits. Medical records should be handled as confidential information and kept separately from ordinary personnel files.

Pay, Health Insurance, and Job Protection

FMLA leave itself is unpaid. However, an employee may choose, or an employer may require, substitution of available paid vacation, personal, family, or medical leave, as permitted by the employer’s policy and the FMLA. Paid leave does not extend the total FMLA entitlement; it runs at the same time as FMLA leave when the absence qualifies.

During FMLA leave, the employer must maintain the employee’s group health coverage under the same conditions that would apply if the employee continued working. The employee generally remains responsible for their normal share of premiums. If the employee does not return to work after FMLA leave, the employer may be able to recover its share of health premiums in limited circumstances, subject to statutory exceptions.

At the end of protected leave, the employee generally has the right to return to the same job or an equivalent job with equivalent pay, benefits, and other terms and conditions. FMLA protection does not erase legitimate employment actions that would have occurred regardless of the leave, and it does not create additional benefits beyond those provided by law or policy.

Military Leave for an Employee’s Own Service Is Different

An employee who takes time away from a civilian job to perform National Guard or Reserve duty is generally dealing with USERRA, not military caregiver leave. USERRA protects civilian employment rights for people who leave jobs to perform uniformed service, subject to the law’s requirements. It addresses issues such as reemployment, benefits, and discrimination based on military service.

USERRA does not itself create a general paid-leave entitlement, although an employer may provide paid military leave under its policies or state law. An employee who serves and also needs to care for an injured relative should ask the employer to assess each absence under the law that may apply. FMLA and USERRA can interact, but they cover different situations.

When the Service Member Is on Active Duty

A family member’s need for time off may instead relate to a covered active-duty deployment or call to active duty. In that situation, the FMLA’s qualifying exigency leave may apply. Eligible employees may take up to 12 workweeks in the employer’s applicable 12-month period for certain qualifying needs, such as arranging childcare, attending specified military events, or addressing financial and legal matters arising from deployment.

Qualifying exigency leave is distinct from the 26-week military caregiver entitlement. It generally concerns a qualifying exigency related to a spouse, son, daughter, or parent who is a covered military member on covered active duty or called to covered active duty. It is not a general-purpose allowance for any family need connected with military service.

Other Options and Practical Steps

If FMLA does not cover the situation, the employee can ask about employer-provided personal leave, paid time off, a flexible schedule, remote work, or a leave-sharing program. State or local laws may provide additional family or medical leave rights, and some employers offer benefits beyond federal minimums. Eligibility and pay vary, so the employer’s HR department or benefits administrator can explain available policies.

For urgent military-related situations, families may also contact the American Red Cross Hero Care Network. It can help relay emergency communications to service members and verify emergencies for certain military or humanitarian purposes. It does not replace an employer’s leave process or guarantee job-protected leave.

• Keep copies of leave requests, employer notices, certification forms, and responses.
• Ask which 12-month FMLA calculation method the employer uses.
• Confirm how health insurance premiums will be paid during unpaid leave.
• Discuss intermittent scheduling early when treatment dates are known.
• Contact the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division for information about FMLA rights or to raise a concern.

Reliable Sources for Current Rules

Federal FMLA requirements are administered by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. Its resources include FMLA guidance, the fact sheet on military caregiver leave, and the optional certification forms WH-385 and WH-385-V. USERRA information is available through the Department of Labor’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service.

Because leave eligibility depends on work history, employer coverage, the family relationship, and medical certification, an employee should confirm the details with the employer and consult the Department of Labor when a question remains. State laws, collective bargaining agreements, and employer benefits may provide protections beyond the federal FMLA.