On February 5, 1993, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) became the first legislation signed into law by President Bill Clinton. On February 5, 2013, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Act by publishing new FMLA regulations and holding a special event attended by President Clinton, former Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman, and others who promoted the 1993 statute. 
The agency also released “Family and Medical Leave in 2012,” a report on the law compiled for the DOL that reviewed the status of the FMLA in 2012 and opined on proposals to change the law. The report surveyed 1,812 worksites, some covered and some not, and 2,852 employees, some eligible for FMLA leave and some not. Here are some of the facts from the report:
- As in 2000, when the last survey was conducted, 13% of all employees took leave for FMLA-covered reasons in 2012.
- Among workers who were FMLA-eligible, 16% took leave; among those were ineligible, 10% took leave.
- Most leave was taken for the employee’s own illness (57%), while 22% took leave for pregnancy or the birth or placement of a new child, and 19% took caregiver leave.
- Some 42% of eligible and ineligible employees took leave that lasted 10 days or less.
- Most employees receive some pay while they’re on leave, with 48% receiving full pay and 17% getting partial pay, usually through vacation or sick leave or other “paid-time- off” benefits.
- Only 5% of employees were unable to take needed time off, with 46% of them citing “inability to afford the leave” as the reason.