Family and Medical Leave Act

The FMLA currently requires employers with 50 or more employees to grant up to three months of time off to their employees for the birth or adoption of a child, the care of a sick relative, or personal health conditions. The regulations mandating the FMLA are extensive, complicated, time-consuming and expensive. Congress is expected to look closely at the FMLA and make suggested changes, with some efforts seeking to expand the reach of the Act as well as making some of the leave paid. One issue that is likely to come up is to make it mandatory for all employers with 15 or more employees to provide 7 days of sick leave. This activity comes on the heels of some legislative and regulatory action in 2008 including expanding the provisions for family members of military personnel.

Oppose Attempts to Expand Coverage to Absences Unrelated to Health or to Include Employers with Fewer than 50 Employees. Additional leave decisions should be made with the particular needs of both the employee and employers in mind, and be related to health matters only.
Expansion of the FMLA Would Create New and Substantial Administrative and Staffing Burdens on Small Businesses. Complying with the FMLA regulations is time-consuming and expensive. The burden falls especially hard on small companies that lack the resources to hire a full-time human resources manager or a labor attorney. Imposing the FMLA on the nation’s smallest companies and creating additional reasons for leave will not remedy any significant deficiency. Small companies are already exposed to legal liability for complying with the OSH Act, FLSA, and numerous other federal, state, and local laws and regulations.
Regulations Are Vague and Confusing. Among the many deficiencies of the FMLA are the definition of “serious health condition” (which is vague and confusing) and the intermittent leave provisions (which are complicated and difficult to administer). Instead of expanding FMLA, the regulations should be streamlined and clarified to simplify and clarify the current law. AGC will work with Congress and the Administration as efforts are made to change and/or modify FLMA.

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