Family and Medical Leave Act has Helped Millions

Press Release

FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT HAS HELPED MILLIONS

While the Family and Medical Leave Act has provided millions of Americans time off from work to care for a newborn or a sick relative, improvements are needed to ensure that more workers are able to take advantage of the law's protections, witnesses told the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections of the House Education and Labor Committee today.

"Millions of workers have been able to utilize leave to care for the birth or adoption of a child, to care for a sick child or parent, or to care for their own serious medical condition," said Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), chair of the subcommittee. "But, at the current time, we lag far behind other countries in providing family-friendly policies, such as paid leave, to our workers."

Under the Family and Medical Leave Act, eligible workers in businesses with more than 50 employees can take up to 12 work weeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period in order to care for a sick relative or a new child or to recover from illness.

"American families will tell you employment policies have not kept pace with the changing needs of the workforce in this country," said former Rep. Pat Schroeder, one of the original authors of Family and Medical Leave Act. "Juggling work and family is going to be essential for almost every American family in the global economy we live in."

In a recent study of over 170 countries, the U.S. was found to be one of only four that does not guarantee paid leave for new mothers. The other three are Papua New Guinea, Swaziland and Liberia. In addition, of the 20 most competitive economies in the world, the U.S. is the only one that does not require businesses to provide paid sick days for its workers.

Woolsey has proposed legislation designed to encourage family-friendly workplaces that would, among other incentives, guarantee paid leave and expand eligibility for family and medical leave.

Chante Lasco, a recent new mother, testified that she found the protections of FMLA helpful, but limited.

"When I first found out I was pregnant and inquired about taking leave, I was surprised to learn that such leave is totally unpaid," said Lasco. "I managed to get a few of the 12 weeks off paid, but while I was not being paid, the mortgage still had to be paid, the utilities still had to be paid, and my huge student loans from law school still had to be paid, on top of all the new baby-related costs."

Airline attendants and pilots generally cannot qualify for FMLA leave because the calculation to qualify for leave only takes into consideration the time they spend working a flight. The calculations do not consider time between flights, such as overnights and layovers or time on reserve or "stand-by" status, even though these periods are based on company scheduling and a worker is away from home. In addition, pilot flight hour times are capped at 1,000 per year by federal regulations. These factors make it impossible for most flight attendants and pilots to accumulate the hours necessary to qualify for FMLA.

"Allowing an individual to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in order to care for themselves or a family member during an illness or injury, knowing that they will have a job to return to, has provided peace of mind for many," said Jennifer Hunt, a flight attendant. "However, I and thousands of other full time, working flight attendants in this country have unfortunately been unable to take full advantage of this benefit."

The Airline Flight Crew Technical Corrections Act (H.R. 2744), introduced by Rep. Tim Bishop (D-NY), corrects this problem by allowing full-time flight attendants or other crew members to be eligible for FMLA.

The U.S. Department of Labor is also considering several changes to the 15 year-old law. Debra Ness, president of the National Partnership for Women and Families, said that the proposed changes erode some basic protections of FMLA.

"The proposed changes upset the careful balance struck by the FMLA between the needs of employers and workers to favor the employers," Ness said. "If these regulations are enacted, workers will find that they must give more notice, more information, have more medical examinations, and respond to employer requirements in shorter time frames."

Congress recently approved improvements to FMLA for military families who are caring for a wounded veteran or dealing with a sudden deployment. For more information on the new law, click here.

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