The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires covered employers to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave to eligible employees. To be eligible, employees must have worked at least 12 months for an employer and at least 1,250 hours. This law applies to all state employers, public and private elementary or secondary school employers, and companies that have at least 50 workers. Employees can use this leave for the birth, adoption, or fostering of a child, due to a serious health condition or to care for an immediate family member with a serious health condition.