On January 28, 2008, President Bush signed into law H.R. 4986, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008. Among other things, the Act amends the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) (for the first time in almost 15 years) to permit a "spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin to take up to 26 weeks of leave to care for a member of the Armed Forces (including a member of the National Guard or Reserves) who is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy, is otherwise in outpatient status, or is otherwise on the temporary disability retired list, for a serious injury or illness."

Specifically, the law permits (1) up to 26 weeks of leave in a one-time 12-month period to care for a service member with a "serious illness" who is injured in the line of active duty (effective immediately), and (2) up to 12 weeks of leave in any 12-month period for a "qualifying exigency" related to a service member's call to active duty. What constitutes a "qualifying exigency" will be defined shortly by the Department of Labor.