# Quarantine and the FMLA

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quarantine-and-the-fmla/178529>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 30, 2003, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quarantine-and-the-fmla/178529 "2003-05-30T14:31:40Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![chukhung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e79b87/32.png) [@chukhung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chukhung)\
**Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quarantine-and-the-fmla/178529/1 "2003-05-30T14:31:40Z")

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In the U.S. under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), is an employer required to give an eligible employee time off work without pay if that worker has been quarantined due to exposure to an infectious disease (such as SARS)?

I’m unsure whether possible exposure to a disease counts as a “serious health condition”. I mean, can an employer say that you’re not eligible for FMLA leave unless you’ve actually contracted SARS?

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**Author:** ![DeVena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@DeVena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeVena)\
**Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quarantine-and-the-fmla/178529/2 "2003-05-30T15:17:53Z")

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Nope - quarantine is covered by FMLA. It’s a medical practice for the treatment of a serious illness conducted by medical personnel.

[Good Info site.](http://www.hronline.com/forums/hrnet/9907/msg00141.html) [Lawyers talk about SARS and the office.](http://www.littler.com/nwsltr/asap_SARS.html) and of course, [The Act Itself](http://www.dol.gov/dol/allcfr/ESA/Title_29/Part_825/toc.htm)