Make Your Voice Heard on FMLA

By Rebeldad Brian Reid

It was almost exactly five years ago that my parental leave ended and I prepared to go back to work. Thinking about saddling back up to my desk every day was not appealing. The bonding and 3 a.m. feedings and first smiles and desperate calls to the pediatrician changed me in a fundamental way. I couldn't go back to being the guy who put in 12-hour days at his desk and who traveled at the drop of a hat. I had more important things to attend to.

If I were to pick, the decision to take family leave ranks up there as one of the single most life-altering choices I've ever made. And I still thank my lucky stars that I worked at a company with a generous policy and lived at a time when family leave was a protected right.

Family leave is on my mind this week because of a chilling little note in the Federal Register. It seems that the Labor Department is interested in hearing people's experience with the Family and Medical Leave Act, the grand 1993 compromise that (finally) codified the right of people to stay home with their newborns or care for ailing family members (usually).

So, what's the administration doing poking around FMLA? According to an Associated Press story:

"This is meant to be a very objective review," Victoria Lipnic, assistant secretary for the Labor Department's Employment Standards Administration, said in an interview with The Associated Press.

"We're genuinely in search of information and having looked at the issues now for a number of years ... it became apparent we really needed some fresh thinking on this. I am hoping that is what all of this will yield," she said.

I happen to agree that we could use some fresh thinking -- paid leave anyone? -- but I fear that the Labor Department may have other plans. About two years ago, there was a minor flurry of concern over widespread rumors that FMLA was in for a gutting, with further restrictions on what could and could not be covered under the law. A number of groups raised the alarm, and the issue quietly died. No one seems to know enough to declare whether this marks a new threat or something more benign, though Debra Ness from the National Partnership for Women & Families sounds worried in that AP story. And erring on the side of caution never hurts.

So while I don't want to damp discussion today, I would like to ask you all a favor: Before you comment below about your leave experiences, first send your thoughts to the nice folks at Labor (whdcomments@dol.gov). I hear they're looking for some fresh thinking.

Brian Reid writes about parenting and work-family balance. You can read his blog at rebeldad.com.

By Brian Reid |  December 7, 2006; 7:12 AM ET  | Category:  Flexibility
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