The recent military-related family leave addition to FMLA may not be the last of the changes.

The Department of Labor (DOL) has proposed a set of changes to FMLA, slated to take effect in 2009. The DOL’s proposals are currently being reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget.

Two key issues:

• expanding FMLA to cover workplaces with fewer than 50 employees, and
• in cases where there is unclear medical certification, allowing increased communication between an employer and a worker’s doctor for purposes of clarification.

Employers hoping for a tightening of the restrictions on intermittent leave may be out of luck.

Companies have complained that allowing workers to take FMLA leave for a few hours or even minutes is disruptive and hurts productivity. No major changes are anticipated in that area.

It remains to be seen if the feds will be able to finalize the changes this year. The DOL was originally supposed to issue the preliminary proposals back in 2006.