The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) is a Federal law that was enacted to safeguard the employment relationship between an employer and an employee in circumstances where an employee may be absent from his or her place of employment due to a serious health condition or extraordinary family needs. The law provides for 12 weeks of unpaid family and/or medical leave annually to "eligible employees". An "eligible employee" is one who has completed 12 months of employment and who has worked more than 1,250 hours in the preceding 12 months. An eligible employee may avail himself/herself of a FMLA unpaid leave for the following reasons: (1) the birth or care of a child, including an adopted child or newly placed foster child, (2) the care of an immediate family member, including a spouse, child, or parent, with a serious health condition, or (3) the employee's own serious health condition. For the purposes of FMLA, a "serious health condition" is defined as an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that requires in-patient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential or medical-care facility, or that requires continuing treatment by a health care provider and absence from work or other regular activities for more than three days.