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Family Medical Leave Turns 15, Under Attack by Bush Labor Department |
Fifteen years after the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) became law, workers have used the unpaid leave some 100 million times to take care of a newborn, a sick child or other family member or themselves. But workers may have a harder time taking family leave if changes to the law proposed by the Bush Department of Labor are adopted.
This morning at a House hearing, which marked the 15th anniversary of the landmark law, Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the Education and Labor Workforce Protection Subcommittee, said she is
…disappointed the department is proposing changes to make it harder on workers to utilize FMLA…It’s disturbing to me because they shift the balance more in favor to employers. They create more hoops for the workers to jump through.
Debra Ness, president of the National Partnership for Women and Families (NPWF), told the subcommittee that if the proposed changes are enacted,
workers will find that they must give more notice, more information, have more medical examinations and respond to employer requirements in shorter time frames. Employers, on the other hand, would have more time to respond to employees’ request for FMLA leave and more ways to delay or deny FMLA leave.
There have been no improvement to the law in 15 years, except when Congress in January granted families of wounded service personnel FMLA rights.
Former Rep. Patricia Schroeder (D-Colo.), who is considered the “mother of family and medical leave” for her efforts to get the act passed and signed into law, said that when it was enacted, she thought it was a first step and that many improvements would made.
It’s been very depressing to see that we did nothing to improve it for the last 15 years…we still are doing less than any other developed country in this area.
Jennifer Hunt, a member of the Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA), told the subcommittee that one way to improve the law would be to ensure that flight attendants are covered. Because their hours are calculated only from the time a plane pulls away from the gate until it arrives at its destination, with no credit for time spent on the ground, few flight attendants meet the 1,250 hour a year requirement for FMLA coverage.
Hunt found that out when she was turned down for FMLA to help care for her Iraqi war veteran husband while he was battling cancer.
On Dec. 27, 2007, my husband was diagnosed with prostate cancer. While exploring the various treatment options available to him and preparing for a potential surgery, I immediately applied for Family and Medical Leave. Because of this unique way in which our hours are calculated, I did not meet the 1,250-hour requirement for FMLA. I should point out that I was working a full-time schedule at US Airways.
While I was unable to qualify for FMLA, I did, however, qualify for Personal Care Leave, which is something my union, the Association of Flight Attendants, had negotiated with our company management. Negotiating a more meaningful FMLA policy is something that we at US Airways and many other flight attendants at other airlines have had to do.
Using the negotiated leave, and her seniority rights that allowed her to adjust her schedule, Hunt was able to care for her husband, who had surgery in February.
Because the law only applies to workers in firms of 50 or more employees, some 40 percent of all workers are not covered. Several witnesses pointed out that there are millions of workers eligible to use FMLA but don’t because they can’t afford to take unpaid time off, especially low-wage workers. Said Ness:
Without some form of wage replacement, the FMLA’s promise of job-protected leave is a chimera for too many women and men. In fact, 78 percent of employees who qualified for FMLA leave and needed to take the leave did not because they could not afford to go without a paycheck.
She pointed out that California, Washington State and New Jersey (just last week) have passed paid family leave laws, “but we can’t wait for 47 more states.”
Last year, Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) introduced the Family Leave Insurance Act (S. 1681) that would provide up to eight weeks of paid family leave. The cost would be shared by employees, employers and the federal government.
Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) introduced the Healthy Families Act (S. 910 and H.R. 1542) that would require employers with 15 or more employees to provide workers with seven paid sick leave days a year to take care of themselves or a family member.
Said Wollsey:
The USA. should be a leader in the world on these matters. But, at the current time, we lag far behind other countries in providing “family-friendly policies,” such as paid leave, to our workers. We need to catch up, and catch up fast.
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One Sick Kin Away From Being Fired
A Poem by David G. Hurlburt© 2007
It is hard for a family to make both ends meet,
Both of us working so we are not on the street.
Minimum wage workers need every single dime;
They also need some emergency kin care time.
We work hard, and at night and we’re so tired,
Just one sick child away from being fired.
Why can’t we use sick leave to care for our kin,
When the Bosses fires us for that is a just a sin.
Not any time off, with pay, for short time family care;
When the roll is called up yonder will these managers be there?
We work hard and at night and we’re so tired.
Just one sick spouse away from being fired.
Companies protect and defend at all costs their mighty corporate rights
So when you take time off for your family, be prepared to join the fights.
Working families, we need to lobby congress and the legislatures too.
We need a law so are jobs are protected when our child gets the flu..
We work hard and at night and we’re so tired,
Just one sick parent away from being fired.
Providing time for families doesn’t cost it will pay.
It reduces turnover because more employees stay.
It, increases loyalty, dedication and it is caring and kind.
A benefit employees value and it’s one that’s hard to find.
We work hard and at night and we’re so tired.
Just one sick self away from being fired.
Too many times we’re fired and end up in the street.
Loss of jobs or pay and our bills we can’t meet.
Bankruptcy from medical bills or the loss of a job,
We loose heart and hope and our kids learn to rob
You can pay to build families or tear them apart.
The dollars spent on sick leave are just a start;
Childcare, after school programs to care for our kids
And medical care for every one even those on the skids.
If you don’t do these things you will still pay the price.
In court costs and prisons and that is not very nice.
A nations economy must serve all the people in the land;
Not greed or the wealthy, government must take a stand.
The social safety net is not just for the poor,
It protects us all from the thief at our door.
This country spends so much on Courts, prisons and police,
When what we really need are stronger families that take care of each other.
Please support Healthy Families S. 910 and H.R. 1542), Family Leave Insurance Act (S. 1681) and expand FMLA to more employees of smaller employers.
It make sense to allow employees a fair amount of paid sick leave, either for themselves or their family. I was given 12 paid sick leave days a year with 3 paid personal days as part of our negotiated agreement with my Union and the County school system I worked for. I can’t tell you how much I needed these days when my children were young. I not only got sick quite a lot because I worked with children, and I caught every virus that went around, but my children inevitably got sick also, as they were exposed to other children. You name it - we got it. The point is, is that when you are sick, you should be able to stay home to avoid getting other people sick and to get well quicker. For the first few years I used up all my paid sick leave. As my children got older and my resistance improved, I was able to bank my left over days. This really came in handy when I got chronically ill and had to take extended time off. I was able to remain employed and receive a paycheck for another half year while I underwent tests and treatment. It was a blessing that I did not have to go to work at this time, yet I continued to accrue tenure, with the hope that I would eventually be able to return to the work I loved doing. However, it was not to be, and I had to retire.
I considered myself extremely fortunate that I had a strong Union that made sure we had good working conditions, good benefits and guaranteed pay raises every year, at the very least a ‘cost of living’ increase.
It is with this in mind that I really want others to see just how necessary unions are. There are many businesses out there who will stop at nothing to prevent a union from taking hold. That is why is is so important for more and more people to get involved in the fight, to do everything in their power to demand representation and the right to have negotiated agreements with their employers. My Union also prevented illegal firings and discrimination.
For hard working individuals, not of wealth or status, this is the best bet to at least be able to have a decent living.