{
  "object_type": "business_agent",
  "schema_version": 1,
  "title": "FMLA job-protected leave",
  "core": {
    "id": "agent:us:business:fmla-leave",
    "jurisdiction": "us",
    "domain": "employment",
    "question": "Must I give employees unpaid family and medical leave?",
    "affected_business": [
      "Employer"
    ],
    "applies_when": "Private employers with 50 or more employees in 20 or more workweeks in the current or preceding year.",
    "decision": "Yes, eligible employees are entitled to job-protected leave.",
    "obligation": "Grant up to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave in a 12-month period for qualifying reasons, keep group health coverage and restore the employee to the same or an equivalent job.",
    "action": [
      "Confirm employee eligibility (12 months and 1,250 hours)",
      "Send the eligibility notice",
      "Designate the leave as FMLA leave in writing",
      "Maintain health benefits during leave"
    ],
    "deadline": "Eligibility notice within 5 business days of the leave request or of learning the leave may qualify.",
    "sources": [
      {
        "provision": "29 U.S.C. 2611(4)",
        "url": "https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/29/2611"
      },
      {
        "provision": "29 U.S.C. 2612(a)(1)",
        "url": "https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/29/2612"
      },
      {
        "provision": "29 U.S.C. 2617(a)",
        "url": "https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/29/2617"
      },
      {
        "provision": "29 CFR 825.300(b)",
        "url": "https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-825.300"
      }
    ],
    "read_at": "2026-10-15"
  },
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  "fields": [
    "affected_business",
    "decision",
    "obligation",
    "risk",
    "action",
    "deadline",
    "verification"
  ],
  "affected_business": [
    "Employer"
  ],
  "applies_when": "Private employers with 50 or more employees in 20 or more workweeks in the current or preceding year.",
  "decision": "Yes, eligible employees are entitled to job-protected leave.",
  "obligation": "Grant up to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave in a 12-month period for qualifying reasons, keep group health coverage and restore the employee to the same or an equivalent job.",
  "risk": {
    "risk_level": "high",
    "risk_factors": [
      "statutory_damages"
    ]
  },
  "action": [
    "Confirm employee eligibility (12 months and 1,250 hours)",
    "Send the eligibility notice",
    "Designate the leave as FMLA leave in writing",
    "Maintain health benefits during leave"
  ],
  "deadline": "Eligibility notice within 5 business days of the leave request or of learning the leave may qualify.",
  "verification": {
    "sha256": "988590ce71f3639e005e0d9a2849d8f80dbf9daf956a9538650faa065605a886",
    "read_at": "2026-10-15",
    "sources": [
      "https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/29/2611",
      "https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/29/2612",
      "https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/29/2617",
      "https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/section-825.300"
    ],
    "source": "Source: NovaCopilot"
  },
  "next_questions": [
    "Which employees are eligible for FMLA?",
    "Can FMLA leave be taken intermittently?",
    "Do I have to give notice before laying off many employees?",
    "What do I have to check when I hire someone?",
    "Can I treat this worker as an independent contractor?"
  ],
  "related": [
    {
      "id": "agent:eu:business:pay-transparency",
      "type": "business_agent",
      "url": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/business-agent?id=agent:eu:business:pay-transparency"
    },
    {
      "id": "agent:us:business:cobra-continuation-notice",
      "type": "business_agent",
      "url": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/business-agent?id=agent:us:business:cobra-continuation-notice"
    },
    {
      "id": "agent:us:business:contractor-classification",
      "type": "business_agent",
      "url": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/business-agent?id=agent:us:business:contractor-classification"
    },
    {
      "id": "agent:us:business:eeo-1-report",
      "type": "business_agent",
      "url": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/business-agent?id=agent:us:business:eeo-1-report"
    },
    {
      "id": "agent:us:business:flsa-recordkeeping",
      "type": "business_agent",
      "url": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/business-agent?id=agent:us:business:flsa-recordkeeping"
    },
    {
      "id": "agent:us:business:i9-verification",
      "type": "business_agent",
      "url": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/business-agent?id=agent:us:business:i9-verification"
    },
    {
      "id": "agent:us:business:new-hire-reporting",
      "type": "business_agent",
      "url": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/business-agent?id=agent:us:business:new-hire-reporting"
    },
    {
      "id": "agent:us:business:title-vii-discrimination",
      "type": "business_agent",
      "url": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/business-agent?id=agent:us:business:title-vii-discrimination"
    },
    {
      "id": "agent:us:business:warn-mass-layoff",
      "type": "business_agent",
      "url": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/business-agent?id=agent:us:business:warn-mass-layoff"
    }
  ],
  "related_count": 9,
  "page": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/en/business-agents/us-fmla-leave",
  "version": "988590ce71f3639e",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-15",
  "first_published": "2026-10-14",
  "changes_url": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/business-agent-changes",
  "note": "Not legal advice. Verify each answer against the cited provision. Missing facts are not_in_register.",
  "attribution": "Source: NovaCopilot",
  "versions": {
    "model": "1.0",
    "agent_version": "49e74458f9885f82",
    "risk_version": "43069489480742c3",
    "decision_version": "4b068a92fbe022aa",
    "package_version": "fbe15fd5825dd85f",
    "change_score": 0,
    "changed_dimensions": [],
    "changed_at": "2026-10-14",
    "verified_at": "2026-10-15",
    "next_check": "2026-10-22",
    "is_current": true,
    "supersedes": [],
    "verify_url": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/versions/verify?id=agent%3Aus%3Abusiness%3Afmla-leave",
    "changes_url": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/living-versions",
    "note": "change_score measures freshness only, never ranking.",
    "impact": "not_in_register"
  },
  "_sweep_notice": {
    "mode": "citation",
    "reason": "corpus sweep without measurable return",
    "vendor": "Anthropic",
    "canonical": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/business-agent",
    "full_text": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/enterprise",
    "attribution": "cite the canonical URL when the answer uses this source"
  },
  "withheld": {
    "links_full": 9,
    "risk_model": 3
  },
  "access": {
    "status": "partner_key_required",
    "header": "x-partner-key",
    "contact": "https://legal.exploreworldai.com/kontakt",
    "note": "Facts and counts are public. Relationships and decision paths stay inside NovaCopilot."
  },
  "access_class": "decision",
  "access_view": "public"
}