As reported in www.lawupdates.com, the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor recently issued an Administrator's Interpretation in order to clarify the definition of "son and daughter" under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 ("FMLA").  According to the WHD, this guidance is necessary to ensure that an employee who assumes the role of caring for a child receives parental rights to family leave regardless of the legal or biological relationship.

By way of a brief background, the FMLA allows workers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave during any twelve month period to care for loved ones or themselves.  The 1993 law also allows employees to take time off for the adoption or the birth of a child.  The Administrator's Interpretation clarifies that these rights, which provide work-family balance, extend to the various parenting relationships that exist in today's world.

This action is a victory for many non-traditional families, including families in the lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender community, who often in the past have been denied leave to care for their loved ones, according to the Wage and Hour Division.  By way of example, now an employee who intends to share in the parenting of a child with his or her same sex partner will be able to exercise the right to FMLA leave to bond with that child.