An employee took FMLA leave for 22 weeks within the past year for her husband. How many weeks can she take to care for her injured sister?

The correct answer reflects the provisions of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) concerning the total amount of leave an employee is entitled to take within a specified year. Under the FMLA provisions, eligible employees are allowed to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for certain family and medical reasons.

In this scenario, since the employee has already taken 22 weeks of FMLA leave within the past year for her husband, she has exceeded the maximum allowed leave of 12 weeks. Therefore, when considering an additional request to care for her injured sister, no weeks of FMLA leave remain available.

Although the answer suggests 4 weeks, it does not align with the regulations because the employee has exhausted her FMLA leave entitlement. The correct standpoint is that she would not be eligible for any additional FMLA weeks for her sister's care due to having already taken more leave than allowed within the 12-month period.

Understanding the strict nature of the FMLA's leave limits is essential for managing employee leave correctly and ensuring compliance with the law.