Topic Spotlight

Employer groups, employee advocates respond to FMLA rule changes

Stakeholders on all sides responded swiftly to the release by the Department of Labor of long-anticipated revisions to the agency's Family and Medical Leave Act regulations. Employer organizations offered measured support of the new FMLA rules, while urging further changes are still needed. In contrast, employee groups generally criticized the revisions --but they did react favorably to provisions implementing enhanced rights for military families.

"New regulations implementing the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) will provide additional leave for military families, while providing better guidance for both employees and employers to ensure the law is working as Congress intended," according to the National Coalition to Protect Family Leave, an employer group that had advocated for FMLA rule reform.

"This landmark legislation has benefited millions of Americans and their families. After 15 years, it was clearly time for a comprehensive review of the regulations," said Lisa Horn, National Coalition chair. "Based on our initial review, we are confident the new rules will support our military families, protect all of FMLA's important benefits and should give employers additional clarity that they need to implement the statute effectively."

The Coalition said the new regulations will help to clear up regulatory confusion, which the organization believes has made the FMLA "difficult for employees to understand and unworkable for employers to administer."

"The FMLA was never intended to turn full-time jobs into part-time jobs, to allow employees to take sporadic leave without any notification to employers, or to unfairly burden colleagues forced to cover the unpredictable absences of their co-workers," said Horn. "This rule simply restores the balance Congress intended between employers' needs for employees, and employees' need for time to attend to important family and medical issues."

The Coalition noted it would continue to push for additional improvements, however, especially regarding the use of unscheduled, intermittent leave, which the organization says "threatens the work environment for millions of legitimate users of FMLA leave."

To Read the Rest of this Article

Subscribers click here.

Not a subscriber? Subscribe today.

For More Information

The HR Management: Ideas and Trends™ Newsletter brings you in-depth discussions of industry topics that affect you most, with an emphasis on practical guidance. You'll get new ideas, tips and strategies for performing your job more efficiently and cost effectively. Learn More »