How to Apply for FMLA in Alabama in 6 Steps

There are few people as busy as parents who are welcoming a new baby into the family. Whether you're about to give birth or you'll be adopting, balancing work and family life during this crucial period of time is difficult, at best. Taking time off from work can help ease the stress and strain, but if you live in Alabama, you may not be able to get paid maternity or paternity leave.

Although there are some states with laws that require private employers to either provide employees with pregnancy leave or disability leave, Alabama does not. Your employer may provide either paid or unpaid maternity or paternity leave, but they do not have to. Even if your employer does not have a policy for maternity leave in place, you are protected under the Federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

Does applying for leave due to the birth or adoption of a child seem like a lot of hassle and trouble? It can be a daunting task to ask for time off, but DoNotPay can help you get the family leaves you deserve with the click of a button.

Paid Parental Leave in Alabama

There are only a few states that offer paid parental leave, including California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia. Because Alabama does not have a specific maternity leave law, employers are not obligated to provide paid parental leave. Your employer may do this on their own, but if not, you may have to rely on other means in order to take time off that you need for your new family member. You could:

Use your accrued paid vacation time.
Save up your paid personal days.
Access time off through your paid sick time allotment.

If you've already exhausted these options, your only choice may be to take unpaid leave under the FMLA.

What is FMLA?

The is a federal law that allows eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid leave from their job for certain medical conditions, including childbirth, adoption, and foster care. This time off is job-protected, which means that the employee cannot be dismissed from their position during a leave under most circumstances.

Eligible employees are entitled to twelve weeks of medical leave in a 12-month period for:

The birth of a child and for the care of a child within the first year of birth
The fostering or adoption of a child to care for the newly placed child for the first year
Caring for a spouse, child, or parent who has a serious health condition, including pregnancy or childbirth

Commonly Asked Questions

Do I Get Paid on FMLA?	Keep in mind that paid maternity leave is not a requirement in Alabama, and many employers do not offer this benefit. You may be thinking that you'll be covered under FMLA and that you'll still receive your wages if you take time off. However, this is not the case. FMLA does not provide you with any form of income during your medical leave.
How Do I Apply for FMLA?	In order to take FMLA leave, you'll need to make sure that you've given your employer adequate notice. In general, this means you should notify your employer at least 30 days in advance of your leave. If you are notified by your doctor that you should immediately take time off, you should let your employer know right away. The best thing to do is to write your employer a letter detailing your time off request and the fact that you're requesting time off due to a condition covered by FMLA, such as pregnancy.
How Can I Use FMLA to Take Unpaid Leave in Alabama?	When applying for FMLA, you may be required to provide supporting documents for your claim in the form of a written leave notice and/or medical certification. Keep in mind that FMLA is not guaranteed, and your leave could be denied if you do not meet the following: If your leave is foreseeable, you need to provide your employer with advanced notice no later than 30 days prior to the beginning of the requested leave period. You may have to provide your employer with a medical certificate that supports your need for time off due to your health conditions.
How Can I Request FMLA Leave From My Employer?	Whenever you're requesting time off from your job for pregnancy, birth, foster care, or adoption of a child, you need to do so in writing. Many employers will accept a letter stating your desired leave of absence period, your reasons for requesting the leave, and your intended return date. If, however, you're having trouble with the process, DoNotPay is here to help.

Get Your FMLA Leave in Alabama With the Help of DoNotPay

You're going through a lot right now with a new child joining your family, and you deserve to take time off to manage your family. If you're having trouble dealing with your employer, or you're unsure of how to go about requesting leave from work, leave it to DoNotPay.

How to request parental leave using DoNotPay:

If you want to request parental leave but don't know where to start, DoNotPay has you covered in 6 easy steps:

Tell us which state you work in (if you work in CA, NY, NJ, MA, WA, or DC, your state has a paid family leave program).
Choose whether you want us to apply to the program for you or contact your employer with your leave request. If you want to apply for the program, we will walk you through the questions on the form and mail the application form for you.
If you want us to contact your employer, enter your leave details, including the starting date, number of weeks of leave, and how many weeks of paid leave you are requesting (for example, you may take a 12 week leave, but only request eight weeks of paid leave to make the request reasonable).
Indicate whether you are the birth parent or not (birth parents have a few additional legal protections).
Enter the name of your company and the person to address this request to.
Select whether you want us to email the request to your employer on your behalf.

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No matter where you live or what company you work for, navigate the sometimes tricky road to family leave. But that's hard all the world's first robot lawyer can do. Just a few of the other amazing services DoNotPay offers include:

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