As a caregiver for a person with cancer, you may have other avenues to explore besides federal and state laws that help provide paid time off, partial paid time off, or a guarantee that your job will be there when you return.
Check your Company Policies
Beyond state and federal laws for caregivers, your company may have developed a formal or informal policy about granting leave for you.
Check in with your supervisor or your human resources staff. You may be surprised. According to a benefits survey conducted in 2003 by the Society of Human Resource Management, 39% of companies surveyed offered family leave about the 12 weeks required by the federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
Some states have additional FMLA requirements, and 29% of those participating in the survey said their company offers family leave time beyond what is required by the state FMLA.
Be a Trailblazer
If your company doesn't have a policy, and FMLA and any state protection isn't enough to meet your caregiving needs, perhaps you should ask your employer to consider tailoring a policy to meet your needs -- and to become a model for future employees who may need the same or similar accommodations.
In the benefits report generated by the Society for Human Resource Management, many companies began to establish more creative medical leave policies for caregivers and others due to employee need and requests.
Model Programs
In some larger companies, with 100 or more workers, employers may be willing to give workers extended leaves, because they have the ability to absorb the duties and workload of a staff person gone for a longer period than 12 weeks, the traditional leave time.
Some larger companies are known for their efforts to help workers with caregiving duties, even if it means bearing some financial hardship. Hallmark, for instance, the greeting card maker, once granted a three-year paid leave to an employee with two critically ill children.
Finalizing Your Leave
If you are putting together a leave based on your needs, and it's forging new company policy, it might be wise to get the details in writing. You could write a simple memo, saying, "This is what I need," or "This is what I am proposing."
