Caroline Reaves
320 Norwalk Way
Middletown, DE 19709
August 10, 2015
The Honorable Thomas Richard Carper
United States Senate
513 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Carper:
As I am sure you know the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) took effect in 1993 to help balance workplace demands with the medical needs of employees and their families. The Act allows qualified employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave during a 12-month period. According to the Department of Labor website you may also use FMLA for what is referred to as "birth and bonding" an extended parental leave for the birth or adoption of a child, and for bonding with a new foster child. However, the United States is the only industrialized
According to the Michigan Civil Service Commission (MCSC), “parental leave is a FMLA leave of absence for employees who become parents of newly born, adopted or fostered
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) became public law on February 5, 1993. Its purpose is to grant family and temporary medical leave under certain circumstances that will allow the employee to balance the demands of their job with the needs of their families. Some examples of eligible leave are: for the birth or adoption of a child, to care for an (eligible) family member that has a serious health condition or because the employee themselves have a serious health condition and is unable to work for an extended period of time. Further, the FMLA was enacted in order to minimize employment
The Family and Medical Leave Act sets regulations for job-protected leave related to family and medical reasons. FMLA applies to organizations with 50 or more employees working within 75 miles of the employee’s worksite (“Employment Laws,” n.d., para. 6). Employees who have been with their current employer for 12 months and who have worked 1250 hours of service in the previous 12 months are eligible for 12 weeks of unpaid leave through FMLA (“Eligibility Requirements,” Revised 2013). FMLA covers the following leave reasons:
The balancing act of family and work can be very difficult at times. At some point in everyone’s life, he or she will need to take time off of work to deal with family matters. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993 was created to help employees find a balance between the challenging demands of work and home. This Act allows eligible workers that require time off for personal reasons or family emergencies up to twelve weeks of unpaid leave.
The FMLA entitles eligible employees the ability to take off up to 12 weeks of unpaid time off within a 12-month period with the benefit of job protection upon returning to the company. The time off is subject to specific criteria that must meet federal guidelines. The website www.dol.gov lists these five leave entitlements.
The Family and Medical Leave Act sets regulations for job-protected leave related to family and medical reasons. FMLA applies to organizations with 50 or more employees working within 75 miles of the employee’s worksite (“Employment Laws,” n.d., para. 6). Employees who have been with their current employer for 12 months and who have worked 1250 hours of service in the previous 12 months are eligible for 12 weeks of unpaid leave through FMLA (“Eligibility Requirements,” Revised 2013). FMLA covers the following leave reasons:
What is Family and Medical leave Act (FMLA)? The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) that was passed in 1993, is a national policy that grants workers up to twelve weeks of unpaid leave in four situations. These four situations are for pregnancy; to care for an infant, such as newborns, newly-placed foster children, and adoptions; to care for a relative with a serious health condition; or to allow an employee to recover and recuperate from a personal serious health condition. This paper will be discussing the impact of FMLA on employers and the protections provided by this law. (Vikesland, 2009)
The Family Medical Leave Act was passed in 1993 and updated in 2008 and 2009. The law requires employers with 50 or more employees to allow up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave. The provision of the law would allow employees who have worked for one year and have worked at least 1,250 hours to use the unpaid leave for family or medical reasons (DeCenzo 267). It is important to note that the employee does not have to work for one year of continuous service, any combination of weeks worked that equal to 52 weeks makes and employee eligible for FMLA leave. If the employee has a break of seven years or longer, that time does not have to be counted towards the 52 weeks (United States Dept of Labor, 2017). To count the
Although current federal and state level legislation guarantee some protections, these policies do not cover all new parents. Parents must have worked a minimum of 5 months while contributing to State Disability Insurance to receive 55% of their salary during 6 weeks of their parental leave, and must have worked with an employer for 1 year to quality for 12 weeks of unpaid leave (“About Paid Family Leave (PFL),” n.d.). Parental leave is not accessible to all adults in the United States because of these requirements, and therefore makes early parenting even more challenging for working adults. Nationally, the trend for mothers on maternal leave has stagnated, although the US economy has expanded (Zagorsky, 2017).
Adoption or foster care is another qualifying reason under FMLA. After being qualified, an employee can take up to a 12-week leave, after a year of a child being placed through adoption. The leave for adoption can occur before the actual adoption takes place, which could be for numerous reasons. Those reasons can include, attending counseling sessions, court, traveling to another country to complete the adoption or even traveling to another state. Then, there is caring for a family member with a serious health condition, which is also qualified for FMLA. An employee may request leave to care for a family member, although it is only available for spouses, children, or parents. Those that aren’t included are the employee’s in-laws, or their grandparents. Reasons for taking this kind of leave is for conditions such as; prolong illness, cancer would be an appropriate example. Then there are health conditions that don’t qualify which include, the common cold, flu, earaches, upset stomachs, and headache. Next, we have an employee’s own health conditions. This includes employees that are unable to work because of their health condition or illnesses. Under FMLA regulations, an employee’s health condition must occur at least twice a month per the calendar year and an employer may require their employees to show their
The Family and Medical Leave Act was enacted by Congress on February 5, 1993, and it is public law 103-3. This law allows for a person to leave work in certain situations without losing his/her job. An eligible employees must have worked for the employer for at least 12 months and at least completed 1250 hours of service. An employee is able to leave work for up to 12 weeks for any of the following reasons: the employee expects a baby in his/her immediate family, the employee expects an adopted child in his/her immediate family, the employee has to take care of an ill family member which includes spouse, parent or his/her own children, and/or the employee has a serious medical
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides specific employees with up to 12 weeks of protected leave. FMLA was created to help qualifying employees attend to important responsibilities by taking unpaid leave for certain family and medical reasons. FMLA promotes equal employment opportunities for both men and women. FMLA generally applies to all organizations with 50 or more employees.
The Family and Medical Aid Act (FLMA), of 1993, provides for 12 weeks of unpaid, job protected leave for certain specified events (8). Whilst one could refer to this as maternity or paternity leave if taken because of a pregnancy, this would not be strictly true. Where maternity and paternity leave are offered around the
To begin, the Family and Medical Leave Act also known as "FMLA" purpose is demanding balance between the workplace and the needs of the family, to show equal employment opportunities for both, men and women, and lastly to have protection for jobs and benefits during eligible leave (PowerPoint Presentation, n.d). As I read more on the FMLA, I learned that an employee who’s under the FMLA, they are eligible to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for family or medical reason but still able to receive their health benefits and have job security (PowerPoint Presentation, n.d). To answer the question, I believe that the FMLA wouldn't be too restrictive for human service workers. The slides have taught me a lot because I am not knowledgeable on this act. Things
When I was pregnant with my first child I wanted to stay home with her as long as I could after I delivered. I was told by my employer that I could only be off six weeks then had to return to work. I looked up the Ohio Family Leave Act that stated I was entitled to take twelve weeks after the birth of a child and that my job was protected (U.S. Department of Labor, n.d.).