On 2/23/15 the US Department of Labor announced a rule change under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to include same-sex and common law spouses in the definition of “spouse”.

Previously, the regulatory definition of “spouse” did not include same-sex spouses if an employee resided in a state that did not recognize the employee’s same-sex marriage. The 2/23/15 rule change applies to employees in a legal same-sex marriage by allowing those employees eligible under FMLA to take FMLA leave for his or her spouse regardless of the state in which the employee resides. This rule provides all lawfully recognized same-sex and common law married spouses, whether opposite-sex or same-sex, to have consistent federal family leave rights regardless of where they live

FMLA entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons. A covered employer is a:

• private sector employer with 50 or more employees in 20 or more workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year;
• public agency, including a local, state, or federal government agency, regardless of the number of employees it employs; or
• public or private elementary or secondary school, regardless of the number of employees it employs.

The effective date for the rule is 3/27/15.

Additional information is available at http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/spouse/.