As part of a defense spending bill, Congress has expanded the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) again.  You will recall that the 2008 FMLA amendments had expanded FMLA to allow for exigency leave for a parent, child or spouse of someone called to active duty from the Reserve or National Guard.  The new 2009 law provides such exigency leave for the parent, child or spouse of someone already on active duty. 

Such exigencies can include:  short-notice deployment, military events and related activities, financial and legal arrangements, certain childcare activities, financial and legal arrangements, counseling, rest and recuperation, etc.  The new law also clarifies the military caregiver section of the FMLA to cover any family member who was a member of the armed services and is undergoing medical treatment for conditions that occurred any time during the five years preceding treatment and were aggravated by active duty.