Certified Leave Management Specialist (CLMS) Certification Practice Test

True or False: An employee may take FMLA leave to take a grandchild to a therapy appointment if the child's parent is deployed on military training in another state.

1. True

2. False

3. Subject to manager approval

4. Only if the appointment is urgent

The correct answer is: False

The correct answer is indeed that an employee may not take FMLA leave to take a grandchild to a therapy appointment simply because the child's parent is deployed on military training. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides specific entitlements concerning who qualifies as a family member under the law. Under FMLA, an employee can take leave to care for a child or a spouse, or for certain family situations involving parents or themselves. However, the FMLA does not generally extend leave benefits for the care of grandchildren unless the employee is standing in loco parentis. This means there must be a legal or custodial relationship, or an expectation of financial support that goes beyond typical grandparent-grandchild relationships. Just having a grandchild that needs to go to an appointment does not sufficiently justify FMLA leave in the absence of such a relationship. The other options suggest scenarios that imply special permissions or conditions that also do not align with the FMLA's provisions. FMLA leave is typically a right granted under specific family and medical circumstances defined by law, rather than contingent upon managerial approval or the urgency of the appointment.