The Family Medical Leave Act
The Family Medical Leave Act is a labor law allowing an employee to take unpaid leave due to illness or to care for a sick family member. It was one of the first bills signed into law by President Bill Clinton.
FMLA ensures that all workers are able to take extended leaves of absence from work to handle family issues or illness without fear of being terminated from their jobs by their employers or being forced into a lower job upon their return. The leave guaranteed by the act is unpaid, and is available to those working for employers with 50 or more employees. In addition, an employee must have worked for the company for at least 1,250 hours for at least the last 12 months.
To some FMLA is difficult to administer and — at times - understand. To others FMLA doesn’t go far enough to help families.
