Labor Department on FMLA: We Hear You

By Rebeldad Brian Reid

Back in December, I posted that the Department of Labor had pushed out a Request for Information on the Family and Medical Leave Act. At the time, I was concerned. Gutting of FMLA has been a growing priority for the business community, and this administration does not have a reputation for being particularly amenable to regulating the workplace.

Apparently, more than a few of you took the opportunity to tell the government how FMLA had worked for you. To those who took the time: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

The Department of Labor ended up sifting through more than 15,000 comments (or what DOL dryly noted was "a very heavy public response") using those comments as a basis for a just-released 181-page report that solely summarizes the general sentiment of the thousands of comments.

At first glance, the news is good:

... indeed, the overwhelming majority of comments submitted in response to the RFI addressed three primary topics: (1) gratitude from employees who have used family and medical leave and descriptions of how it allowed them to balance their work and family care responsibilities, particularly when they had their own serious health condition or were needed to care for a family member; (2) a desire for expanded benefits--e.g., to provide more time off, to provide paid benefits and to cover additional family members; and (3) frustration by employers about difficulties in maintaining necessary staffing levels and controlling attendance problems in their workplaces as a result of one particular issue--unscheduled intermittent leave used by employees who have chronic health conditions.

Of course, what comes next is the big question. The folks at Labor said they would do nothing with their findings, an unusual move: "There are no proposals for regulatory changes being put forward by the Department with this Report."

Still, no one is letting their guard down. The Associated Press story on the report quotes Debra Ness, the president of The National Partnership for Women and Families worrying aloud that DOL will use the report to foist "regulations designed to roll back FMLA protections."

On the flip side, employer voices aren't optimistic, either. The wave of interest in better leave -- particularly among state and federal legislators -- is getting big enough to ruffle even the Wall Street Journal editorial page editors, who were whipping up fears even before the report dropped:

... Senator Ted Kennedy is pushing a federal law requiring that employers pay for up to seven days of sick leave a year. New York legislators want to require employers to provide 12 weeks of paid leave for the birth of a child, an adoption, or for care of an ill spouse, parent, in-law or sibling. Maine wants its law to cover "domestic partners." A Georgia proposal would offer paid leave for school conferences, medical checkups and immunizations. You can see where this new job entitlement is headed.

Yup, it's pretty clear where it's headed, and I can't wait to get there.

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

By Brian Reid |  July 5, 2007; 7:30 AM ET  | Category:  Flexibility
Previous: Two Navels At Work | Next: Fourth of July Tales

Name:

Comments: