Suggested changes could widen … or narrow …. FMLA’s coverage. Either way you’ll be affected. Here’s a list of possibilities, and a tool to keep up with whatever happens.
One of America’s most talked-about employment laws may soon be changing.
The Family and Medical Leave Act, passed in 1993, allows most employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid (but benefits-continued) leave in each 12-month period. The leave must be used to deal with a serious health condition that either the worker or a close family member suffers from, or to “bond” with a newly born or adopted child, or a child placed with the employee for foster care. During the leave, the worker’s job is protected.
The controversy isn’t over whether such a law should exist. Most Americans see spending time with one’s family during a crisis or certain benchmark events as a value higher than attendance at work. The controversy is over the details of the law, and alleged employee abuse of its provisions.
For good or ill, FMLA has had a huge impact on business. During one 18-month period, nearly 24 million workers took a leave for an FMLA-covered reason, or about 1 of every 7 employees. A Washington research group estimated the 2004 costs to business at $21 billion.
Changes in the law are being preceded by a comment period, which closes on Feb. 2. (If you would like to send a comment to the Department of Labor, click here.)
Changes proposed for FMLA include:
–Widening coverage to workplaces with fewer employees. The current threshold for private business is 50 employees, although some states have lower thresholds in their own FMLA laws.
–A more specific definition of “serious health condition.” At present, it’s an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition requiring in-patient care in a hospital or residential treatment facility, or one that keeps an employee off the job for 3 days or more, and also requires continuing treatment from a healthcare provider.
–Limiting FMLA coverage to serious health conditions that require more than 10 days off work, in effect cutting down the number of covered conditions, and forcing those employees who do take time to use it up more quickly.
–Allowing greater communication between employers and doctors to determine the full nature of an employee’s health condition and treatment.
–Increasing the minimum time an employee must take for intermittent leave. Some employees now take an hour or even minutes at a time, creating ongoing disruption of work flow, say affected employers.
–Adding to the reasons FMLA leave can be taken. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) has suggested allowing parents to attend conferences with their child’s teacher.
As is true for most employment law, each state may have its own version of FMLA, and many do, usually with more employee-friendly provisions.
A Tool to Keep Up With the Changes
Whatever changes finally come to FMLA, employers will need to know about them. BLR’s tool for making this happen is the Family & Medical Leave Compliance Guide program.
The program centers on a comprehensive manual covering every step of FMLA in plain English, from which employees and events qualify for leave, to how to handle medical certification, to proper procedures both during the leave and the return to work.
Especially important are the book’s plain-English explanations of FMLA’s interaction with the Americans with Disabilities Act, workers’ compensation laws, and the leave laws of every state.
This is vital information in that each of these laws was seemingly constructed without regard to the others, so you may be in full compliance with one and while violating another. A reference like the FMLA Guide is absolutely necessary to safely navigate this legal minefield.
Also of great use are a full collection of forms, sample policies, and a link to DOL opinion letters regarding the law.
But perhaps most important in the current fluid situation is that the FMLA Compliance Guide program includes automatic quarterly updates and a special newsletter, both at no additional expense. They’ll detail each change as it happens and keep you current on what’s to come. Believe us, this is no time for obsolete information.
You can sample both the FMLA manual and newsletter by clicking the links below, and you’ll also see a Table of Contents. But our recommendation is for you to examine the program right in your office for 30 days with no cost or obligation to purchase it. That’s the only way to really appreciate what it can do for you. Click the link below and we’ll be happy to arrange this.
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View Table of Contents
FMLA may be changing. BLR’s FMLA Guide program will update you. Click here to try it for 30 days … on us!