The Family and Medical Leave Act is one of the nation’s most important laws to protect the rights of workers who are facing difficulties in their personal lives.
Enacted in 1993, the FMLA allows an employee who has worked at least 1,250 hours during a 12-month period in an organization of 50 or more employees to take up to 12 work weeks of unpaid leave during a 12-month period for the birth or adoption of a child (family leave); the care of a child, spouse, or parent who has a serious health condition; or a serious health condition that prevents the employee from performing the functions of his or her position.
But human resource professionals have been struggling with the precise definitions of the law. It’s supposed to cover serious health conditions not relatively minor ailments. Employers also need to administer unscheduled leaves in a way that’s fair to all employees.
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) leads a coalition that submitted lengthy comments to the Department of Labor, which is responsible for revisions to the FMLA. More than 100 associations and organizations co-signed the comprehensive comments submitted by the National Coalition to Protect Family Leave (NCPFL).
While some provisions of the FMLA work well for both employers and employees, HR professionals have struggled to interpret other provisions, said Lisa Horn, SHRM manager of health care and chair of the NCPFL. These include intermittent leave, medical certifications, and the definition of a serious health condition. The SHRM wants to ensure that the FMLA regulations strike a balance between the employer’s needs and an employee’s need for time to attend to family and medical issues. The FMLA was never intended to turn full-time jobs into part-time jobs and the consequences of unscheduled, sporadic leave on workplaces were never anticipated, according to The National Coalition to Protect Family Leave.
The original purpose of the FMLA, as envisioned by Congress, will never be fully realized until both employees and employers both feel comfortable that an employee is rightly entitled to FMLA leave, said Horn.
