The State of Alabama’s “Adoption Promotion Act” is set to go into effect on July 1, 2022, requiring qualifying employers throughout the state to provide eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for both the birth or care of a child during the first year after the child’s birth or placement of an adopted child with the employee. Leave under the new law runs concurrently with any other leave provided by federal law. Not only are qualifying employers prohibited from penalizing an eligible employee for taking family leave, but also must consider requests for additional family leave due to the adoption of an ill child or a child with a disability on the same basis as comparable cases of complications accompanying the birth of a child. Employers should carefully consider existing handbooks and policies to ensure compliance. Here’s what Alabama employers need to know.

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