With the state Department of Labor’s (DOL) recently adopted regulations, many school paraprofessionals will be newly eligible for family and medical leave. By law, these paraprofessionals are not eligible under the state’s Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) because it does not cover municipal employees. They also usually do not qualify under the federal FMLA because they do not work the required 1,250 hours per year.
However, PA 12-43 required boards of education to provide paraprofessionals with benefits equal to the federal FMLA’s if they have (1) been employed by the board for at least 12 months and (2) worked at least 950 hours during the 12 months prior to taking the benefit. Under the act, the paraprofessionals could not begin accruing the required time until the labor commissioner adopted implementing regulations, which became effective May 12, 2014. The first paraprofessionals will likely be able to take the leave sometime during the next school year.
