The medical leave policy of the federal government is outlined in the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 ("FMLA"). FMLA was enacted by the US Department of Labor and applies to all state and local public agencies including education agencies and private-sector employers who employ at least 50 people in 20 or more workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year. If not subject to the FMLA requirements, an employer may have an alternate policy or may discuss medical leave on a case-by-case basis. If the need to take FMLA leave is foreseeable, an employee must give at least 30-days advanced notice. If emergency family leave is not foreseeable, notice must be given to the employer as soon as possible (i.e. the same or next business day). The FMLA allows eligible employees to take a temporary leave for illness in their immediate family. FMLA benefits include twelve weeks of unpaid leave for employees who must care for an ill family member or new child or to get treatment for their own illness. Family sick leave benefits generally apply an employee's immediate family, including: parents, step-parents, spouse, children, step-children and foster children, siblings and step-siblings, and any relative (by blood or marriage) currently living in the employee's household.