On November 17, 2008, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) published its long-awaited revisions to regulations interpreting the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”). As originally enacted in 1993, the FMLA provided employees meeting certain eligibility criteria with the right to take up to twelve weeks of job-protected unpaid leave during a twelve-month period for four specified family and medical reasons. In January 2008, the FMLA was amended to add new leave rights for military families. The new regulations address the 2008 amendments to the FMLA and make significant (and in many instances, employer-friendly) changes to the existing regulations that have guided employers and the courts since they were first issued in 1995. Important aspects of the revised regulations are summarized in this KS Legal Alert.