29 C.F.R. § 825.700 What if an employer provides more generous benefits than required by FMLA?
Title 29 - Labor
(a) An employer must observe any employment benefit program or plan that provides greater family or medical leave rights to employees than the rights established by the FMLA. Conversely, the rights established by the Act may not be diminished by any employment benefit program or plan. For example, a provision of a CBA which provides for reinstatement to a position that is not equivalent because of seniority (e.g., provides lesser pay) is superseded by FMLA. If an employer provides greater unpaid family leave rights than are afforded by FMLA, the employer is not required to extend additional rights afforded by FMLA, such as maintenance of health benefits (other than through COBRA), to the additional leave period not covered by FMLA. If an employee takes paid or unpaid leave and the employer does not designate the leave as FMLA leave, the leave taken does not count against an employee's FMLA entitlement. (b) Nothing in this Act prevents an employer from amending existing leave and employee benefit programs, provided they comply with FMLA. However, nothing in the Act is intended to discourage employers from adopting or retaining more generous leave policies. (c)(1) The Act does not apply to employees under a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) in effect on August 5, 1993, until February 5, 1994, or the date the agreement terminates (i.e., its expiration date), whichever is earlier. Thus, if the CBA contains family or medical leave benefits, whether greater or less than those under the Act, such benefits are not disturbed until the Act's provisions begin to apply to employees under that agreement. A CBA which provides no family or medical leave rights also continues in effect. For CBAs subject to the Railway Labor Act and other CBAs which do not have an expiration date for the general terms, but which may be reopened at specified times, e.g., to amend wages and benefits, the first time the agreement is amended after August 5, 1993, shall be considered the termination date of the CBA, and the effective date for FMLA. (2) As discussed in §825.102(b), the period prior to the Act's delayed effective date must be considered in determining employer coverage and employee eligibility for FMLA leave.
Title 29: Labor
PART 825—THE FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT OF 1993
Subpart G—How Do Other Laws, Employer Practices, and Collective Bargaining Agreements Affect Employee Rights Under FMLA?
§ 825.700 What if an employer provides more generous benefits than required by FMLA?
