Family Medical Leave Act
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) gives employees twelve weeks off for a worker’s own serious health condition, to bond with a new child, or to care for a seriously ill child, spouse or parent. The FMLA guarantees unpaid job-protected leave, including the maintenance of seniority and benefits and continuation of group health insurance coverage. The worker must be returned to the same or equivalent job at the end of their leave. The FMLA applies to all public sector employees and to private sector employees in businesses of 50 or more workers within a 75-mile radius. Additionally, employees must work for their employer for at least 12 months and have worked at least 1,250 hours in the year preceding the leave.
Commentary
Chamber of Commerce Was Wrong About Family and Medical Leave Law
Cry Wolf Quotes
President Clinton touted his new ‘family leave’ bill, sold as free time off to care for children. It turns out the employers of 50 or more covered by the bill have to pay medical care during the leave. At an average cost of $2,000 for the leave, it is not surprising that a Gallup study for the National Federation of Independent Business, found that half of the businesses said they would be reluctant to hire young women under the law, would try to replace low-skilled jobs with machines, and would trim other benefits.
We must also recognize that mandated benefits may limit the ability of some employers to provide other benefits of importance to their employees. The number of innovative benefit plans will continue to grow as employers endeavor to attract and keep skilled workers. Mandated benefits raise the risk of stifling the development of such innovative benefit plans.
[The FMLA] is an unprecedented, inflexible, Government-mandated employee benefit that will strangle both individual and employer flexibility in addressing workplace needs….Government mandates…do not contribute to economic recovery and growth. Resources spent to comply with Federal mandates cannot be spent to create jobs. These mandatory costs on business are not good for the economy as a whole. Employers must be free of the same kind of rigidities that have plagued the economies of many nations in Europe.
The complexity of the federal Family and Medical Leave Act and the added state provisions can be costly to employers of any size. The administrative burden and potential for overlap with other benefits can have a serious impact on workforce productivity.
Evidence
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A Workable Balance: Report to Congress on Family and Medical Leave Policies
A tenth anniversary study of the Family Medical Leave Act's effects.
