Businesses, workers gear up as US prepares to amend family leave rules
By Maggie Jackson, Globe Correspondent, 5/22/05
There's a tug of war going on in Washington, D.C. that could affect your ability to take unpaid time off and get your job back when you are seriously ill or have to care for a family member. You should be aware of this tussle, because you have more power to sway the debate than you may think.
The Department of Labor plans to revise the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, which requires companies with 50 or more employees to allow workers up to three months unpaid leave a year for illness or caregiving. We don't know what the government will do, or when. A March target date to issue draft revisions came and went with officials still deliberating.
The administration cannot touch the law's central tenets, which ensure job protection and continued health coverage to eligible workers during a leave. But who gets the leave and how they take it is spelled out in regulations the Labor Department can change. Now, as the government prepares to change the regulations to address a series of court rulings, the door is open for wider revisions.
Business groups are lobbying for stricter definitions of what constitutes a ''serious illness'' covered by the law. They are also pushing for a minimum time off of half a day, rather than as little as a quarter-hour, saying such changes are needed to prevent abuse. In turn, groups representing families and workers are fighting to preserve the current broad eligibility and compliance provisions.
''This is a time we should be looking for ways to ease the burden on working families, not take away the protections they already have,'' says Debra Ness, the president of the National Partnership for Women & Families.
Most employers say the 12-year-old law has had no noticeable impact on productivity, profitability, and growth, according to a 2000 Labor Department survey, the most recent statistics available. Two-thirds of employers reported that compliance was easy, although the number reporting difficulty in doing so more than doubled to 36 percent between 1995 and 2000.
Despite the law's success, two main problems need fixing, say business groups such as the Chamber of Commerce. First, a leave now is available for ''serious health conditions,'' mostly lasting more than three days. Saying they need to combat abuse, some employers want ''serious'' more clearly defined, perhaps by limiting leaves to illnesses of 10 days or more.
''I had someone out for four weeks for a broken toe,'' says Elissa O'Brien, human resources director at CranstonArc, a 350-employee nonprofit for people with disabilities in Rhode Island. ''What I would like to see happen is more of a definition of what a serious health condition is.'' Most Rhode Island workers also may receive up to 30 weeks time off with partial pay for nonwork-related illness or injury under a state disability insurance program.
Businesses also want employees to take off in at least four-hour increments to streamline administration of the law. Currently, workers can take the smallest increments companies track, usually an hour. Such intermittent leave was crucial to Patti Phillips, an Atlanta Coca-Cola Co. worker who has used weeks of leave since 1999 to care for her daughter before her death from cancer this year at age 18. By taking an hour off to bring Stephanie to radiation, Phillips preserved more leave for hospital visits. ''I was able to be with her when she took her last breath,'' says Phillips. ''That's important.''
Once a decision is made on proposed changes, the public can comment, most likely for 90 days, via the Labor Department's website, www.dol.gov. I'll let you know in this column when the changes are issued. That's the time to tell the government what you think about them. Someday, when you get the time off you need, you and your family will be glad that you spoke up.
Maggie Jackson's Balancing Acts column appears every other week. She can be reached at .
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