The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) passed in 1993 just weeks after the inauguration of President Bill Clinton. The new law provided eligible employees with 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year for their own serious health condition or to care for a new child or a family member with a serious condition. Having already been vetoed twice by George H.W. Bush, the FMLA passed over steep opposition from business interests, who predicted that it would heap additional costs on employers, curb wages and cause widespread job loss. Even many supporters were skeptical, predicting that the new FMLA would provide little benefit to workers who could not afford to take unpaid leave. Nevertheless, the act passed and was touted as the fulfillment of President Clinton’s campaign promise to help average Americans "balance the demands of the workplace with the needs of families" while still accommodating the "interests of employers." 29 U.S.C. § 2601.
Two decades (and roughly 100 million FMLA leaves) later, it is clear that some of the concerns expressed by the FMLA’s opponents were exaggerated. After all, it does not appear that the FMLA has caused job loss or the stagnation of wages. Nor can it be said that the benefits of the Act have gone unused because FMLA leave is not required to be paid. To the contrary, a recent survey conducted for the Department of Labor (DOL) found that 16 percent of eligible workers in the United States take FMLA leave each year. U.S. Dep’t of Labor, family and Medical Leave in 2012: Technical Report (2013). The study also concluded that many employees actually are paid while on FMLA even though it is not required, with 48 percent reporting full pay and another 17 percent partial.
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