The Department of Labor has just issued the final revised regulations for the Family and Medical Leave Act, marking the first major regulatory update of the 1993 law in more than 13 years.

The new rules will take effect 60 days after publication in the Federal Register, which is scheduled to take place Nov. 17.

In addition to addressing certain interpretive issues that have arisen over the years, the regulations implement statutory amendments signed into law by President Bush this past January allowing family members of wounded military personnel to take up to six months of unpaid leave to care for them during their rehabilitation process.

Assistant Secretary of Labor Victoria A. Lipnic said the final rules "will improve communications between employees, employers, and health care providers to make the law operate more smoothly, and provide needed clarity for both workers and employers about their responsibilities and rights" under the FMLA. She asserted that the new rules will "not reduce the law's coverage for workers who need FMLA leave" and instead "will reduce uncertainty and provide greater predictability in the workplace for everyone."

Definitions of 'serious health condition' was addressed. The new rules also consolidate in one section all the requirements that employers provide particular types of notice to employees and reconciles certain conflicts and time limits in the provisions.