Louisiana

When you are sick—be it with a bad cold or more serious illness or injury—you may need time off from work to rest and heal. Federal, state, and local laws, may give you time off when you need it and protect you from employment discrimination.

Taking Time Off from Work 

Unpaid Family & Medical Leave

Unpaid family and medical leave laws typically provide time off from work that allows you to keep your job but your time away from work may not be paid. Generally, if you are eligible for both paid family and medical leave and unpaid family and medical leave, you often have to take those at the same time but there may be exceptions. 

If you are covered, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows you to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid time off of work per year to address your own serious health needs (including pregnancy), bond with a new child, care for a seriously ill or injured family member, or address certain military family needs—without losing your job (or your health insurance, if you have it).

• • Only about half of all private sector workers in the U.S. are covered by the law. You must 1) work for the government or a company with 50 or more employees within 75 miles of your worksite; and 2) have worked with your employer for at least 1 year; and 3) have worked at least 1,250 hours in the year before taking leave.
  • If you are covered, you can use the 12 weeks to care for your own serious medical needs, including those related to pregnancy and recovery from childbirth. You may also take the leave on an intermittent basis or may work on a reduced schedule.
  • While you are on leave, if you receive health insurance through your employer, you have the right to keep your health insurance benefits.
  • When you return to work, you have the right to return to the same or a very similar job, unless you fall into a narrow exception.
  • If you have accrued paid leave from your employer, you may choose to use that paid time off concurrently with your FMLA time. Your employer can also require you to use your paid leave—including paid vacation, personal, or sick days—while you are taking FMLA leave.
  • For more information about the Family and Medical Leave Act, see here.

Other Laws that May Provide Paid Benefits

• If you were hurt while working or became sick as a result of your job, you may also be entitled to paid benefits and other protections through Workers’ Compensation.
• If you lose your job due to your own medical needs, and are able to continue working, you may still be able to get Unemployment Insurance. For more information about how to apply, consult your state’s website. You may also want to consult with an attorney if you have questions about your eligibility. 

Reasonable Accommodations and Anti-Discrimination Laws

• The Louisiana Employment Discrimination Law prohibits employers with 20 or more employees from discriminating against employees with disabilities.
• The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires employers in the U.S. with 15 or more employees to provide reasonable accommodations to workers with disabilities and makes it illegal for employers to discriminate against workers with disabilities. Disability is defined as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, which can include caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, and working. This means:
  • Your boss cannot fire you, refuse to give you a promotion, or harass you because you have a disability.
  • If you have a disability, your boss cannot refuse to give you small changes at work that you need to stay healthy, like breaks to take medication, temporary relief from heavy lifting, or a stool to sit on during your shift. These changes are called “reasonable accommodations” and are available as long as you can still complete the basic duties of your job with those changes. Your boss does not have to give you an accommodation that would be very difficult or expensive, like building a whole new office.

Please note that each of these laws often covers certain categories of employees, but may not cover all types of employees. For example, special rules often apply to government employees. Additionally, different laws may have different standards to determine which health needs qualify for coverage. And, in many cases, more than one law may apply to your situation. If you have a question about whether you are covered under any of the laws mentioned, contact A Better Balance at 1-833-NEED-ABB.

When a child or family member gets sick or injured—be it with a bad cold or a more serious illness or injury—you may need to take some time off from work to care for them. Federal, state, and local laws may give you time off when you need it and protect you from employment discrimination. 

Taking Time Off from Work

Unpaid Family & Medical Leave

Unpaid family and medical leave laws typically provide time off from work that allows you to keep your job but your time away from work may not be paid. Generally, if you are eligible for both paid family and medical leave and unpaid family and medical leave, you often have to take those at the same time but there may be exceptions. 

If you are covered, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows you to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid time off of work per year to address your own serious health needs (including pregnancy), bond with a new child, care for a seriously ill or injured family member, or address certain military family needs—without losing your job (or your health insurance, if you have it).

• • Only about half of all private sector workers in the U.S. are covered by the law. You must 1) work for the government or a company with 50 or more employees within 75 miles of your worksite; and 2) have worked with your employer for at least 1 year; and 3) have worked at least 1,250 hours in the year before taking leave.
  • If you are covered, you can use the 12 weeks to care for a seriously ill family member. Under the FMLA, covered family members include a worker’s son or daughter under the age of 18 (or an adult child unable to care for him or herself due to a physical or mental disability), spouse, and parent.
  • The FMLA defines “son or daughter” to include a biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward, or a child of a person standing in loco parentis. For more information about protections the FMLA provides for LGBT families, see here.
  • You may also take the leave on an intermittent basis or may work on a reduced schedule to care for a seriously ill family member.
  • While you are on leave, if you receive health insurance through your employer, you have the right to keep your health insurance benefits.
  •  When you return to work, you have the right to return to the same or a very similar job, unless you fall into a narrow exception.
  •  If you have accrued paid leave from your employer, you may choose to use that paid time off concurrently with your FMLA time. Your employer can also require you to use your paid leave—including paid vacation, personal, or sick days—while you are taking FMLA leave.

Under Louisiana law, your employer may—but does not have to—grant you up to sixteen hours of leave per year to attend, observe, or participate in conferences or events at your child’s school or daycare center, provided the activity couldn’t be scheduled during nonwork hours. You must give your employer reasonable notice. Your employer does not have to pay you for this leave, but you can use any vacation time or other appropriate paid leave you may have.

Other Laws that May Provide Paid Benefits

• If you lose your job because you have family caregiving responsibilities, you may still be able to get Unemployment Insurance. For more information about how to apply, consult your state’s website. You may also want to consult with an attorney if you have questions about your eligibility.

Special Protections for Veterans’ and Military Families

• If you are covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and a close family member is, or was, in the Armed Services, you may be entitled to additional protections under the FMLA.
• The FMLA provides special protections for service-connected injuries or illnesses. If you are the spouse, parent, son, daughter, or next-of-kin of a veteran or a member of the Armed Services, including the National Guard and Reserves, you may be able to take military caregiver leave. You can take up to a total of 26 weeks of unpaid leave a year to take care of your military relative if he or she has a serious injury or illness stemming from his or her military service.
• In addition to the ordinary protections under the Family and Medical Leave Act, if you have a parent, child, or spouse on or called to active duty service in a foreign country, you may be eligible for what is called “qualifying exigency” leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act to address certain needs arising out of that active duty service. This leave allows you to take up to a total of 12 weeks of unpaid leave a year.
  • This leave is available to address many different types of needs, including:
    • tending to the needs of the children of a service member, such as arranging childcare, attending meetings, or enrolling the child in a new school
    • making legal or financial arrangements for a military member
    • spending time with a servicemember on a short-term rest and recuperation leave
    • arranging care for the parent of a servicemember when the parent is unable to care for himself or herself.

Anti-Discrimination Laws

• The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) also bans unfair treatment of workers based on their relationship with a person with a disability. The ADA covers workers in workplaces with 15 or more employees. For example, your boss can’t cut your hours because they think you can’t work as hard because you have a child with asthma. Or your boss cannot assume that you will cost more on the company’s health insurance plan because your family member is seriously ill. However, this law does not give relatives of a person with a disability the right to accommodations, such as a schedule change, to help them provide care.

Please note that each of these laws often covers certain categories of employees, but may not cover all types of employees. For example, special rules often apply to government employees. Additionally, different laws may have different standards to determine which health needs qualify for coverage. And, in many cases, more than one law may apply to your situation. If you have a question about whether you are covered under any of the laws mentioned, contact A Better Balance at 1-833-NEED-ABB.

UPDATE: The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act are now law. For the latest information about these protections and when they go into effect, visit our resources: Pregnant? Just Gave Birth? Pumping? Know Your Workplace Rights! and Talking to Your Boss About Your Pump: Your Rights Under the Federal PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act.

Staying healthy at work while you are pregnant is sometimes challenging: you may be dealing with morning sickness, back pain, or doctor appointments every few weeks. For women who have suffered a miscarriage, you may need time off for recovery. U.S., Louisiana, and local laws can help you stay healthy at work, give you time off when you need it, and protect you from pregnancy discrimination.

Pregnancy Discrimination 

• The Pregnancy Discrimination Act makes it illegal for any employer in the U.S. with 15 or more workers to treat employees unfairly because they are pregnant, trying to get pregnant, or have experienced pregnancy loss. That means:
  • Your boss can’t fire you or cut your hours when they find out that you’re pregnant or trying to get pregnant—you have the right to keep working as long as you can still do your job. You also have the right to be free from harassment at work because you are pregnant.
  • If your employer asks you about your pregnancy or plans to have children in a job interview, that may be evidence of pregnancy discrimination.
  • Your employer can’t treat you differently from other workers just because you are pregnant or have had a miscarriage. In 2015, the Supreme Court decided a case where it clarified what this means. The Court said that employers may not put a “significant burden” on pregnant employees. How do you know what’s a significant burden? Start looking around at how your employer treats other non-pregnant employees who have needed an accommodation at work. For example, does your employer have a policy of giving light duty only to those with on-the-job injuries? Or did they have no problem helping out folks with non-pregnancy related disabilities, but sent all the pregnant women out onto unpaid leave? If so, this could be evidence of pregnancy discrimination. It’s best to collect all the evidence you can (policies, employee handbooks or manuals, digging around to find out how others have been treated) and to discuss your particular situation with an attorney.
• The Louisiana Employment Discrimination Law also bans discrimination based on pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions, and covers employers with more than 25 employees. Under the law, your employer must treat pregnant women the same as temporarily disabled employees in terms of taking sick leave or other accrued leave. For more information about the law, see here.

Workplace Accommodations 

If you need changes at work to stay healthy on the job, the laws below can help.  In addition, click the green button to learn how to talk with your boss about your pregnancy and request an accommodation if you need one.

• The Americans with Disabilities Act, makes it illegal for employers in the U.S. with 15 or more employees to discriminate against disabled workers.  Some pregnancy-related conditions, such as preeclampsia or gestational diabetes, are considered disabilities under the law. This means:
  • Your boss cannot fire you, refuse to give you a promotion, or harass you because you have a pregnancy-related disability.
  • If you have a pregnancy-related disability, your boss cannot refuse to give you small changes at work that you need to stay healthy, like breaks to take medication, temporary relief from heavy lifting, or a stool to sit on during your shift. These changes are called “reasonable accommodations” and are available as long as you can still complete the basic duties of your job with those changes.  Your boss does not have to give you an accommodation that would be very difficult or expensive, like building a whole new office.
  • Although pregnancy, by itself, is not considered a “disability,” some conditions of pregnancy may be disabilities so check with a lawyer to see whether you have a right to an accommodation at work.
• The Louisiana Employment Discrimination Law also bans disability discrimination, and covers employers with 20 or more employees.
• Under Louisiana’s pregnancy accommodations law if you work for an employer with more than 25 employees and you need a “reasonable accommodation” because you have medical needs that cause limitations arising out of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, your employer has to give it to you unless it would be really difficult or expensive (an “undue hardship”). This means:
  • Your boss can’t just fire you if you ask for a chair to sit on or light duty while you are pregnant—she has to give you what you need to stay healthy at work, unless your employer can show that it would seriously harm the business.
  • Examples of accommodations listed in the law include: making existing facilities readily accessible and usable; providing scheduled and more frequent or longer compensated break periods; providing more frequent bathroom breaks; providing a private place, other than a bathroom stall, for the purpose of expressing breast milk; modifying food or drink policy; providing seating or allowing the employee to sit more frequently if the job requires standing; providing assistance with manual labor and limits on lifting; temporarily transferring the employee to a less hazardous or strenuous vacant position, if qualified; providing job restructuring or light duty, if available; acquiring or modifying equipment or devices necessary for performing essential job functions; or modifying work schedules.
  • For more information about your rights under this law, click here.

Taking Time Off from Work 

Unpaid Family and Medical Leave

Unpaid family and medical leave laws typically provide time off from work that allows you to keep your job but your time away from work may not be paid. Generally, if you are eligible for both paid family and medical leave and unpaid family and medical leave, you often have to take those at the same time but there may be exceptions. 

• If you are covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act, you have the right to take time off during pregnancy or after experiencing a miscarriage without losing your job. See the “Time off for Childbirth and Bonding” section under the next tab for more information and see this guide to your workplace rights around miscarriage.
• In addition to those covered by the FMLA, Louisiana’s Pregnancy Accommodations Law gives some workers a right to unpaid time off for pregnancy related needs.
  • You are covered if your workplace has more than 25 employees.
  • The law guarantees you up to four months of unpaid leave while you are disabled because of pregnancy or childbirth. If you have a healthy pregnancy and are not disabled, you employer does not have to give you more than six weeks of leave.

Please note that each of these laws often covers certain categories of employees, but may not cover all types of employees. For example, special rules often apply to government employees. Additionally, different laws may have different standards to determine which health needs qualify for coverage. And, in many cases, more than one law may apply to your situation. If you have a question about whether you are covered under any of the laws mentioned, contact A Better Balance at 1-833-NEED-ABB.

UPDATE: The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act are now law. For the latest information about these protections and when they go into effect, visit our resources: The PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act: What You Should Know and The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act: What You Should Know.

The U.S. is one of the only countries in the world with no national law guaranteeing women the right to paid leave for childbirth. However, you may have the right to take unpaid leave during pregnancy, childbirth, and to bond with a new child. You may have additional rights under state and/or local laws. See the “Caring for Your Own Medical Needs” or “Caring for a Loved One” tabs for more information.

Unpaid Family & Medical Leave 

The law may protect your job while you are taking leave due to pregnancy, childbirth, or to bond with a new child (including adopted and foster children).

• If you are covered, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows you to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid time off of work per year to address your own serious health needs (including pregnancy), bond with a new child, care for a seriously ill or injured family member, or address certain military family needs—without losing your job (or your health insurance, if you have it).
  • Only about half of all private sector workers in the U.S. are covered by the law. You must 1) work for the government or a company with 50 or more employees within 75 miles of your worksite; and 2) have worked with your employer for at least 1 year; and 3) have worked at least 1,250 hours in the year before taking leave.
  • If you are covered, you can use the 12 weeks to care for your own health (including pregnancy), to care for a new child after birth, adoption, or foster placement, or to care for a seriously ill family member. Remember that you only get 12 weeks a year in total—if you take time off before you give birth for your own health needs, you’ll have less time afterward to spend with your baby.
  • Before giving birth, you may use your leave an hour or day at a time—such as by taking a day off per week to go to the doctor— rather than all at once. Your employer must approve, however, if you want to use leave time in smaller chunks to bond with your baby.
  • While you are on leave, if you receive health insurance through your employer, you have the right to keep your health insurance benefits.
  • When you return to work, you have the right to return to the same or a very similar job, unless you fall into a narrow exception.
  • If you are in the top 10% of highest-paid workers in your company, different rules apply.
  • If you have accrued paid leave from your employer, you may choose to use that paid time off concurrently with your FMLA time. Your employer can also require you to use your paid leave—including paid vacation, personal, or sick days—while you are taking FMLA leave.
• In addition to those covered by the FMLA, Louisiana’s Pregnancy Accommodations Law gives some workers a right to unpaid time off for pregnancy related needs.
  • You are covered if your workplace has more than 25 employees.
  • The law guarantees you up to four months of unpaid leave while you are disabled because of pregnancy or childbirth. If you have a healthy pregnancy and are not disabled, you employer does not have to give you more than six weeks of leave.
• If your boss treats workers who take time off for childbirth differently from workers who take time off for other medical treatments (for example, they give most workers 2 weeks off for surgery but only 1 week for childbirth), this could be illegal under the national Pregnancy Discrimination Act and/or Louisiana anti-discrimination law. Call A Better Balance if you think you are being treated unfairly.

Please note that each of these laws often covers certain categories of employees, but may not cover all types of employees. For example, special rules often apply to government employees. Additionally, different laws may have different standards to determine which health needs qualify for coverage. And, in many cases, more than one law may apply to your situation. If you have a question about whether you are covered under any of the laws mentioned, contact A Better Balance at 1-833-NEED-ABB.

UPDATE: The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act are now law. For the latest information about these protections and when they go into effect, visit our resources: The PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act: What You Should Know and The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act: What You Should Know.

When you return to work as a new parent, you may still need a few extra breaks to pump breastmilk or time off to care for your baby when they’re sick. There are a few laws that can help you get back to work safely and still care for your family.

Returning from Childbirth 

• If you are disabled for a period of time after childbirth, the Americans with Disabilities Act and Louisiana Employment Discrimination Law, discussed in the “Pregnancy/Pregnancy Loss” tab, may apply.
  • If so, you may be able to get an accommodation at work, such as light duty, while you recover.
• Even if you are not disabled, Louisiana’s pregnancy accommodations law, discussed in the “Pregnancy/Pregnancy Loss” tab, may give you a right to accommodations while you recover from childbirth.

Nursing Rights 

• You have the right to express or pump milk at work. If you work in Louisiana and your employer has more than 25 employees, your employer must give you unpaid break time to express breast milk for up to one year after your child’s birth and a private, non-bathroom space to pump, unless it would be really difficult or expensive for your employer to provide. For more information about your nursing rights, click here.
• Louisiana’s pregnancy accommodations law may also help if you need a reasonable accommodation to express breast milk at work. See the “Pregnancy/Pregnancy Loss” tab for more information.
• The Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) gives some U.S. workers the right to take unpaid breaks at work to pump milk, and requires some employers to find a clean, private place that’s not a bathroom for employees to pump milk. This law only applies to workers and employers who are covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)— the law that sets minimum wage and overtime requirements.
• It may be illegal under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act for your boss to punish or discriminate against you because you are lactating.
• Under Louisiana law, you have the right to Breastfeed Your Child in any public location. It is against the law for a place of public accommodation (basically, any public place) to discriminate against breastfeeding mothers.

Caregiver Discrimination 

• The Americans with Disabilities Act also bans unfair treatment of workers based on their relationship with a person with disabilities. For example, your boss can’t cut your hours because they think you can’t work as hard because you have a child with asthma. However, this law does not give relatives of a person with disabilities the right to accommodations, such as a schedule change, to help them provide care.

Taking Time Off From Work

Unpaid Family & Medical Leave

Unpaid family and medical leave laws typically provide time off from work that allows you to keep your job but your time away from work may not be paid. Generally, if you are eligible for both paid family and medical leave and unpaid family and medical leave, you often have to take those at the same time but there may be exceptions. 

• If you are covered, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows you to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid time off of work per year to address your own serious health needs (including pregnancy), bond with a new child, care for a seriously ill or injured family member, or address certain military family needs—without losing your job (or your health insurance, if you have it). See the “Time Off for Childbirth and Bonding” tab for more information on these laws.
• Under Louisiana law, your employer may—but does not have to—grant you up to sixteen hours of leave per year to attend, observe, or participate in conferences or events at your child’s school or daycare center, provided the activity couldn’t be scheduled during nonwork hours. You must give your employer reasonable notice. Your employer does not have to pay you for this leave, but you can use any vacation time or other appropriate paid leave you may have.

Other Laws that May Provide Paid Benefits 

• If you lose your job because you have family caregiving responsibilities, you may still be able to get Unemployment Insurance. For more information about how to apply, consult your state’s website. You may also want to consult with an attorney if you have questions about your eligibility.

Please note that each of these laws often covers certain categories of employees, but may not cover all types of employees. For example, special rules often apply to government employees. Additionally, different laws may have different standards to determine which health needs qualify for coverage. And, in many cases, more than one law may apply to your situation. If you have a question about whether you are covered under any of the laws mentioned, contact A Better Balance at 1-833-NEED-ABB.