20th Anniversary of the Family Medical Leave Act

2013 marks the 20th anniversary of the passage of the Family Medical Leave Act. This year, the United States Department of Labor is making some important changes in a final rule, which workers and employers should be aware of. Effective Friday March 8, 2013 new regulations will be added to the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Most notably, there have been expansions to benefit military families and airline personnel and flight crews.

2013 marks the 20th anniversary of the passage of the Family Medical Leave Act.  This year, the United States Department of Labor is making some important changes in a final rule, which workers and employers should be aware of.  Effective Friday March 8, 2013 new regulations will be added to the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Most notably, there have been expansions to benefit military families and airline personnel and flight crews.

Families of eligible veterans can now enjoy the same FMLA coverage afforded to the families of active military service-members. The congressional amendments to the FMLA provide that eligible employees can take up to 26 workweeks of leave in order to care for a current service member with a severe illness or injury. In addition to benefiting military families caring for service members back home, the new provision is also designed to accommodate families that may need to take leave during a family member’s deployment. Congress also carved out qualifying exigency leave, which allows eligible employees to take up to 12 workweeks of leave in support of a family member in the National Guard or Reserve on active duty or being called to active duty.

The other important expansion is the special leave calculation method for flight crews.  This is designed to accommodate more airline personnel and flight crews that previously were not covered under FMLA. The new congressional amendment is finally accounting for this industry that has its own unique way of calculating hours logged.

Then acting Secretary of Labor Seth Harris had this to say in celebration, “Enabling our military families to care for their loved ones without fear of losing their job and to actively participate in deployment, reunification and recovery reflects our deeper understanding of the role family members have in sustaining an all-volunteer force.  Today’s rule makes clear this administration’s strong, ongoing commitment to respond to the needs and sacrifices of our military families. The rule also helps ensure that pilots and flight crews will no longer need to choose between career and caring for a loved one.”

Also, all FMLA covered employers need to display this new poster in all workplace facilities. The poster reflects changes in the distinctions between “serious injury or illness” for current service members and veterans and the FMLA standard of “serious health condition.” It also includes the new caveat in the standard eligibility requirements for airline flight crews. Additionally, there are revised FMLA certification forms to process the needs of military families for qualifying exigency leave, leave to care for an injured service member, and leave to care for an injured veteran who was not dishonorably discharged from the military in the past five years.

The employment lawyers at Wanta Thome Jozwiak & Wanta are pleased to celebrate the anniversary of this landmark legislation and to see the continued expansion of FMLA. This law has secured a better life for many Americans – it has been used over 100 million times since being signed into law by President Clinton 20 years ago. However, there is still a need to extend it further. There are two major flaws with the current FMLA. First, there are many workers who can’t afford to take unpaid leave, which is the only leave FMLA covered employees are entitled to. According to a survey recently released, about 5% of employees reported that they were unable to take leave when they needed it because they only were provided unpaid leave.

The second gap in the legislation is that it is not universal, and not everyone is covered.  While nearly 60% of employees meet all criteria for coverage and eligibility under the FMLA, a significant number of employees are not provided FMLA protections and rights.  Studies show this affects predominately young adults in childbearing years who are low wage workers.

As dedicated advocates for employees whose rights have been violated, Wanta Thome commends the Department of Labor on this triumph, but is hopeful to see coverage expanded to all employees in the United States.

Additional information about the FMLA can be found on the employee rights section of our website.  The United States Department of Labor also provides a Family and Medical Leave Act Employee Guide that details employee coverage and eligibility and provides additional information about the law.  The Employee Guide can be found here.