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
[I am] incredulous to hear from my staff that you are contemplating a compromise on parental leave legislation. [Mandated leave benefits are] the greatest threats to small business in America.
America’s business owners are a resilient bunch, but let there by no doubt, HR 1 will be the demise of some. And as that occurs, the light of freedom will grow dimmer.
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.
Passing this bill puts us on a slippery slope to closing exemptions and mandating paid leave.
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.
