Can I Take Off Work to Care for My Daughter When She Has Her Baby?

Under the Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA) an employee who has worked more than half time for one year for an employer of 50 or more employees within a 75 mile radius of the employee’s worksite is entitled to FMLA leave under the terms of the Act.  This can conceivably apply to an adult daughter who is incapable of self care for the activities of daily living AND would qualify as having a disability under the regulations for the Americans with Disabilities Act (which would include the new more expansive definitions under the ADAAA).  The definitions of disability have been broadly expanded under the ADAAA, so that an adult daughter who had complications with the pregnancy or post-birth problems that seriously affected her reproductive system or other major body functions for more than an insignificant amount of time might qualify as a disability.  This would then trigger the provisions of the FMLA that allow a parent to take off to care for the adult child.  This should be evaluated by a lawyer because it is very complicated; however, the possibility for a parent taking off work under the FMLA to care for a daughter, who is having complications with a pregnancy or post-birth is certainly there with the more lenient definition of diability under the ADAAA. This right to FMLA leave could also be used by parents for other situations for needed care for an adult child other than pregnancy or child-birth complications.