Family and Medical Leave

The federal and District of Columbia Family and Medical Leave Acts provide unpaid, job-protected leave to eligible employees so that they can care for their families or themselves in the event of specified family and medical conditions. The George Washington University recognizes that its employees strive to balance their work and personal lives. Its procedures relating to these statutes are designed to support that balance while also providing supervisors with the ability to manage the tasks for which they are responsible.

The University complies with he federal statute at all of its locations and the DC statute in the District of Columbia. The University also generally follows the D.C. statute at its location outside of the District. If the employee's family or medical leave is covered under the federal and D.C. statutes, the leave will be granted under both statutes and run concurrently to the extent possible. If it is not covered under both statutes, the leave will count against the time allowed under the applicable statute.

Employees returning from leave ia timely manner under these statues and who have completed all required documentation may be reinstated to the same position or to an equivalent position with equal benefits, pay, and other terms and conditions of employment. However, an employee returning from this leave has no greater right to reinstatement than if he or she had been continuously working during the leave.

Family and medical leave may be taken on an intermittent basis rather than all at once.

The information found in this section is intended to provide supervisors with guidance relating to employee requests for family and medical leave. The application of these statutes and their relations to each other is complex.

Therefore, employees and supervisors who believe that family and medical leave may be appropriate should contact the Employee Relations Division for assistance.

Please refer to Frequently Asked Questions for more information.