Family and Medical Leave Legislation: Organizational Policies & Strategies
| Author | Jitendra M. Mishra,Suzanne M. Crampton |
| Published date | 01 September 1995 |
| Date | 01 September 1995 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/009102609502400302 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Family And Medical Leave
Legislation: Organizational
Policies &Strategies
Problems have resulted from the novel situation in the U.S, society where more and more
parents are working, leaving them with less time
and
energy
during
the period surrounding
the birth
and
early growth of a new infant. This issue has received considerable attention from
boththe private
and
public sectors.
An
increasing
number
ofprogressive companies have
been
proactive in offeringpaid and unpaid family leaves as part of their employees' benefit package.
On February 5, 1993,President Clinton signed a bill into law granting up to a total of 12 weeks
of unpaid leave
during
any 12
month
period to cope with a family sickness, childbirth or
adoption. This
paper
discusses the history of family leaves and the passage of the Family and
Medical Leave Act (FMLA) along with its provisions and implications. The FMLAis just a first
step for the
U.S.
as other countries provide paid family leave with varying percentages of pay
compared to the
U.S.
Examples of leave policies around the world are examined.
By Nationally,
much
attention has
been
given to
the
problem of balancing
J
~
uz
a
d
nn
e
M
M
'
M
c
~
a
h
m
p
t
o
n
work
and
family responsibilities. The issue of problems
that
working
uen ra . IS ra f ili face i . . ifi I h If f
11
' d
am ies ace IS
not
an msigru
cant
one as
near
yone- a0a
marne
mothers
of infants are in
the
work
force (Zigler &Frank, 1988). There are
conflicting
needs
of all involved, making it difficult to deal
with
the
prob-
lems
working
families are confronted with; e.g., parents'
work
schedules
often
cut
into their time
with
their infant, infants
need
care from their
parents
that
supports
healthy
development
in the early stages of life,
and
employers
depend
on responsible
and
available employees.
Suzanne M. Crampton, Ph.D.,
is an assistant professor of
management
at Grand Valley
State University's Seidman
School of Business. She
received her Ph.D. from
Michigan State University and
has published avarietyof
artides on organizational
behavior and human resource
management topics. These
include Issues associated with
diversity, the ADA,stress,
and
downsizing.
During
the
past
several years, some of the cutting
edge
firms
have
established leave policies
and
implemented
employee benefits packages
that
include protecting a
woman's
job for at least six weeks after childbirth.
For example, U.S. Sprint offers a family leave of absence to
support
family
adjustments
and
prevent
high-performing employees from leaving
the
company.
mM
offers
up
to three years of personal leave, including six to
eight weeks of
paid
leave for recovery from childbirth.
New
mothers
or
fathers (natural or adoptive)
may
be
granted
up
to three years of
unpaid
leave
with
the
option
of
working
part-time
during
the
period.
Throughout
the leave, employees continue to receive full benefits. Apercentage of
adoption
expenses is also reimbursed. However, policies in
other
compa-
nies
have
not
always
been
as generous or consistently applied. For exam-
ple, some companies
only
allowed female employees to take family leave
but
not
male employees.
Given
the
recent recession,
the
rising divorce rate,
and
an increasing
number
of children
born
out
of wedlock,
the
traditional family
has
changed.
Employment policies have fallen
behind
in addressing these changes. The
Public Personnel Management Volume 24
No.3
(Fall, 1995) 271
Jitendra M. Mishra,
PhD.,
isa
professor of management at
Grand
Valley State
University'sSeidman School
of Business. He received his
M.S. from
Northern
Michigan
University, M.B.A.from
Western Michigan University,
F. Ph.5. from the
PhilosophicalSociety of
England, London, and his
PhD.
from Lucknow
University. He has frequently
published articles
and
conducted presentations
covering topics in
organizational behavior,
internationalbusiness, and
personnel
and labor relations.
phenomenon
of the two-paycheck or single-parent family is one
that
has
occurred so quickly
that
our
nation has
had
little time to realize its impact,
understand
the
range of issues it raises, or generate solutions for the
resulting problems. More
than
70percent of American
women
between the
ages of 20
and
50 are employed and, as of 1987, more
than
half the mothers
of children
under
one were working or seeking
work
(Stoiber, 1990). The
reality of the working parents'
phenomenon
is
somewhat
disturbingin
that
these parents are, in effect, often penalized for
what
is a necessity: earning
money
to care for their children
and
to
support
their families. As
women
have continued to enter the
work
force
and
remain there after having
children,
the
issue of maternity leave has taken on
new
importance. In
addition, as
the
population ages,
many
employees find themselves
needing
time off from
work
to care for their elderly parents. Employees are being
compelled to take leaves of absence to fulfill their
many
responsibilities
(Nobile, 1990). Too often, however,
if
an individual takes a leave of absence
and
then
decides to
return
to work, there might
not
be a job to
return
to.
To alleviate the work-family conflict that
many
parents
face today, as
well as to remove the inconsistent polices companies have
been
using to
control leaves of absence, parental leave initiatives have
been
undertaken
at
both
the federal
and
state levels. At the federal level, the Family
and
Medical Leave Act (Public Law
103-3)
was signed by President Clinton on
Friday, February5,1993,after just16days in office, grantingworkers
unpaid
leave for family emergencies. The House, on February 3, 1993, voted
265-163 to
send
the bill to the Senate. The following day, the Senate, after
finally
pushing
aside a GOP attempt to attach agays-in-the-military
amend-
ment, overwhelmingly passed the bill on the evening of February 4,
71-27.
The president'ssigna ture on February 5
was
the culmination of eight years
of effort by Congress,
women's
groups, labor
and
business. Previously, the
bill was twice vetoed by former President George Bush (in 1990
and
1992)-he
refused to place another government
mandate
on business. The
new
Act, which became effective on August 5, 1993, represents the first
federal legislation in the U.S. addressing workers' rights regarding health-
and
family-related employment leaves.
An
Overview
of
the
FMLA
and
Its
Potential
Effects
The Family
and
Medical Leave Act
(FMLA)
provides
up
to 12 weeks
of unpaid, job-protected leave
during
a12-month period for workers to
cope with a family sickness, elder-care: childbirth or adoption. Employers
may
determine the 12-month period as long as it is consistently applied;
e.g., calendar year, fiscal year, rolling year measured from the date the leave
is used or requested, or
any
other fixed 12-month period (Verespej, 1993).
Employees may take the 12 weeks consecutively or intermittently; e.g., a
worker may take 20 three-day leaves for treatments such as chemotherapy
272 Public Personnel Management Volume 24
No.3
(Fall, 1995)
To continue reading
Request your trial