Family and Medical Leave

Business is weighing in on the Family Medical Leave Act…
Let’s make workers’ opinions heard too.
FMLA

The Labor Department is currently asking for comments on the Family Medical Leave Act. Many workers’ advocates believe this is just a first step toward revising the rules to make it harder to take FMLA leave.

In 2004, a study of maternity policies in more than 160 countries showed that all 160 provided some sort of parental leave paid by the government — except Papua New Guinea, Swaziland, Lesotho and… the United States. Let’s not let corporate interests roll the clock back even farther.

The FMLA guarantees 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a newborn, adopted, or foster child; to care for a seriously ill family member; or to take medical leave for a serious health condition. The law guarantees your return to your original job or one with equivalent pay and benefits. Your employer cannot take away benefits or penalize you under the attendance policy for taking FMLA leave.

But the Bush administration’s Labor Department and Big Business have set their sights on FMLA. When big business comes to Washington with big dollars, the SEIU Political Action Fund helps us fight back. Join SEIU PAF to keep working families’ interests in the Family Medical Leave Act.