FMLA (family medical leave act) is a law that provides eligible employees with the ability to take 3 months of unpaid leave that covers certain medical and family conditions. Qualifying conditions for FMLA include pregnancy, caring for a sick child or spouse, and other medical conditions like receiving care for substance use treatment. In this article, you’ll learn more about understanding FMLA for addiction treatment and how you can get the essential care that you need without worrying about your job.
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What Is FMLA?
Before diving into understanding FMLA for addiction treatment, it’s important to have a good understanding of what FMLA is. Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal law that provides eligible employees with the ability to take up to 3 months of unpaid leave if they qualify for specific medical or family-related reasons.
As described above, FMLA can cover certain qualifying reasons, like:
- Taking care of a sick child, spouse, or parent.
- Giving birth and spending time with your newborn.
- Specific military-related experiences
- And certain conditions, like receiving treatment for drug addiction
FMLA protects individuals’ employment by providing individuals the ability to receive up to 12 weeks of unpaid time off from their job. While it’s essential to understand that FMLA does not cover any and all family or medical-related needs, it’s critical to do your research to better understand how you may be protected under the FMLA.
How Can FMLA Be Used for Addiction Treatment?
FMLA can cover addiction treatment under certain conditions. An individual struggling with a drug addiction can be protected under FMLA if they seek substance abuse treatment from a health care provider, or the individual has received a referral for addiction treatment by a healthcare provider. It’s essential to understand that seeking treatment is a requirement to being covered by FMLA, not any absence due to an individual’s substance abuse habits.
There are a wide range of addiction treatment programs that can qualify to be covered by FMLA, as long as this treatment is provided by a healthcare provider. This includes receiving inpatient addiction treatment or outpatient addiction treatment. Some examples of qualifying outpatient treatment options that can qualify include a Day Treatment program, an Partial Day program, or other outpatient treatment options.
Ultimately, FMLA can help employees struggling with substance use disorders to seek the professional health care they need, without having to worry about losing their job. It’s important to conduct your own research and seek out proper documentation in order to be covered by FMLA.
Help Is Available
Understanding FMLA for addiction treatment is important, as seeking substance use disorder treatment qualifies under FMLA. Unfortunately, many people struggling with addiction don’t seek professional treatment for a variety of reasons, including a fear of losing their job. However, under FMLA, you can qualify to seek the essential care you need to take back your health and quality of life, without interfering with your career.
At East Coast Recovery Center, we understand that each patient’s recovery journey is unique. This is why our experienced team of addiction specialists and mental health professionals provides tailored care so you can effectively progress along your recovery. Contact us today to learn more about how we can best support your path to sobriety.
Frequently Asked Questions
FMLA is aimed at protecting individuals as they experience serious family or medical circumstances like pregnancy, childbirth, caring for a sick child or spouse, or medical conditions like seeking drug addiction treatment. You should never worry about seeking professional treatment for your drug addiction. While conducting your own research is critical to seeking addiction treatment, below are several answers to better understand how the family medical leave act can protect your job while also getting the essential addiction treatment you need.
What is not covered by FMLA?
Now that you have a greater understanding of FMLA for addiction treatment, it’s critical to understand FMLA does not cover all family and medical reasons. For instance, as explained above, FMLA does not cover absences due to individuals struggling with substance use disorders. It’s critical you are receiving addiction treatment for your SUD in order to be covered for FMLA.
Additionally, FMLA does not cover any minor medical condition like a cold, headache, stomach flu, or other non-serious medical condition. Other situations that are not covered by FMLA are if you are caring for a sick friend or roommate. Likewise, it’s important to understand that FMLA only covers up to 12 weeks of leave.
Can you be fired for being a recovering addict?
You cannot be fired for seeking addiction treatment under FMLA and being a recovering addict; however, if your company has policies surrounding substance abuse, this can put you at risk of getting fired. If your company has a zero substance use policy, this can potentially put you at risk of termination from your job if you are breaking your company’s policy surrounding substance abuse. Therefore, while not in all cases can you be fired if you are a recovering addict, if your company has certain policies surrounding zero substance use, this can inevitably put you at risk for being fired.Â
What is the longest you can be on FMLA?
FMLA covers up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave within a year. In other words, if you were seeking professional addiction treatment for up to 3 months, this can be covered by FMLA. It’s also important to note that in some qualifying cases, FMLA can be used multiple times across a person’s career as long as each FMLA instance is outside a 12 month period. For example, if a new mother has children a couple of years apart, they would be able to take FMLA given their leave would not be within the same 1 year period of time.Â
