The Town of Winamac has updated its employee handbook, due to a technicality with the Family and Medical Leave Act. Town Attorney Justin Schramm told the town council last week that while the town is subject to FMLA because it’s a political subdivision, its employees are not actually eligible.
“As counterintuitive as it sounds, to be an eligible employee, your employer, who is covered, has to have more than 50 employees,” Schramm explained. “So even though you are a covered employer, employees aren’t eligible employees as that’s defined under the portion of the code that talks about the Family and Medical Leave Act.”
Council members agreed to update the handbook to reflect that. Clerk-Treasurer Melanie Berger explained that the handbook still has to mention FMLA, since the town itself is subject to it. She said Winamac does have other policies in place for employees who need to take personal or catastrophic leave.
