Throughout the past decades, many laws have been imposed to protect employees from various causes. Incidents that have occurred in the workforce have allowed these laws to be passed by our Congress, though it took years to get some of the laws passed. The Family and Medical leave act (FMLA), is only one of the laws that took many rejections after rejection before it was finally passed in 1993. After 9 long years, women and families were finally protected by the Family and Medical Leave Act.
The Family and Medical Leave Act is a law that was passed by Congress on February 5, 1993. Under the law, eligible employees are entitled to 12 weeks of unpaid leave within 12 months for various reasons such as the birth or adoption of a child, the serious health condition of an immediate family member, or the employees’ own serious health condition. Along with that, there are some instances where employees can take up to 26 weeks of unpaid leave during a single 12-month period.
Prior to the FMLA being passed in 1993, women risked their health to prevent themselves from losing their jobs. Women ceaselessly lose their jobs at times of childbirth, or when they need to take care of their child since they may ask for multiple weeks off during times of childbirth or when their child is seriously ill. Even men lost their jobs if they had to take weeks off to take care of their sick children or even to take care of themselves if they themselves are seriously ill. Although the FMLA was passed in 1993, it took 9 years for the law to finally pass and provide job security for families.
Thanks to the Family and Medical Leave Act, women no longer need to risk their lives, rushing back to work right after childbirth nor do men have to risk losing their jobs if they need to take off in order to take care of their families that is in dire need for care when they are ill. The law provides job security, preventing employers from terminating an employee while they are on an unpaid leave of absence.
The Family and Medical Leave Act was passed more than two decades ago, and it remains the single law that prohibits employers from terminating their employees for taking weeks off from work in they are eligible to do so and have an eligible reason as well. It is a single law that helps manage work-life balance and responsibilities. Although the FMLA has had a tremendous impact and has helped provide job security to thousands across the nation, it is still not enough. The United States remains the only industrialized nation that does not offer paid maternity or as many paid days off compared to the other industrialized countries around the globe.
Employees who work 5 days a week in the UK are entitled to 28 paid days off, while in comparison 0 days are mandated in the United States! Although most employers do give 10 paid days off from work. Other countries around the globe also provide more days of paid vacations or days off than the United States does. This relates back to why the Family and Medical Leave Act which was passed more than two decades ago is still not enough for employees in the United States. Although the act allows employees to take weeks off without imposing a risk of losing their jobs many employees still don’t take those days off even when they most need it. Why? Because the days off are unpaid. Many employees refuse to take days off from work even if they desperately need to take them because of financial reasons. Many Americans live hand to mouth and cannot afford to take unpaid days off since they risk not meeting ends for that month, forcing them to continue to show up at work when they need to be elsewhere to either take care of their own health or help a loved one out.
If the United States mandated a certain amount of days of paid days off the Family and Medical Leave Act would be serving employees, at its highest potential. Allowing them to take the days they need off without having to risk their job and without having to worry about how they will meet ends for that month if they decide to take the days or weeks that they need off. With financial concern not in their way to worry about more families will be allowed to reap the benefits of FMLA and allow families to reap the benefits of the act’s true purpose which was to provide job security and two, to create a work-life balance most of us have to juggle multiple responsibilities outside of work.
The Family and Medical Leave Act is a wonderful act that was passed to help secure jobs and has had a tremendous impact on the workforce for the past two decades. Thousands have benefited from this act but there are still some who are having trouble benefiting from the act at all. It is time to make progress and fix the flaw that is holding back employees who are eligible under the FMLA but are not able to benefit from the act because of financial reasons. Not all families make enough money to have a savings account and even if they do have a savings account it may not be substantial enough to provide for the family. No family should be excluded due to financial reasons. It is time for us Americans to finally take a step forward and progress in history and make sure that all families can participate in taking a day off under the Family and Medical Leave Act if they are eligible for it and not let financial reasons be the reason why they are holding back from exercising a right that they were granted over two decades ago. It’s time for a change and it’s time to include everyone in our nation because every single one of us deserves to be included. It’s what makes our nation great.
For more info about FMLA law, you can contact an employment lawyer.
Author: Wajeeha Shahid from Texas A&M University
