As the Connecticut General Assembly weighs forcing companies doing business in the state to offer paid sick leave to employees here, the federal government enacted changes this month to the Family and Medical Leave Act, with a mix of concessions to employees and businesses.
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was enacted in 1993 to give employees the right to take up to three months off from work on an unpaid basis to care for a newborn child, adopt a child, care for an ailing family member or recover from an injury or sickness.
The law does not apply to work sites in which a business has fewer than 50 employees within a 75-mile radius, and employees must have worked at a company at least a year to qualify.
Even as employers assess changes to FMLA, Connecticut Democrats are bidding again to mandate paid sick leave for companies here. As of January, New Jersey businesses must allow workers there up to six weeks of paid time off to care for a newborn or seriously sick relative.
In 2005, about 7 percent of eligible employees nationally took unpaid leave under the FMLA act, according to estimates by Consad Research Corp., a Pittsburgh-based company that prepared a report for the U.S. Department of Labor on the impact of FMLA. DOL separately had determined that several industries are more vulnerable to FMLA furloughs than others, including food and accommodation services, health care and social services, and transportation. Without being able to quantify it, Consad theorized that occupations like health care that require a skilled work force are more adversely affected by extended absences under FMLA than occupations like food services, where employers can quickly train temporary replacements.
For many local companies, the most significant change is a new allowance letting workers recovering from an injury or ailment perform light duties upon returning to work, reserving their jobs and receiving full pay until they are ready to take on their former duties.
The government also expanded FMLA for people with family members on active military duty, allowing them to take up to 26 weeks off ”“ about half a year ”“ if that relative is seriously wounded or sickened while on assignment; and allowing a worker up to 13 weeks off to help with day-to-day living arrangements for relatives in the military, such as child care.
Under FMLA, grandparents can take time off to provide child care for their grandchildren whose parent is serving on active military duty.
According to the most recent records published by the Pentagon, there are approximately 7,000 active-duty military personnel who list a home address in Connecticut, who have some 9,000 dependents. The military does not publish statistics on the number of Connecticut residents who have children in the military.
Not all family advocates are thrilled with the new changes. The National Partnership for Women and Families said the law gives employers more access to the health information of workers and their family members, potentially jeopardizing their medical privacy. The group says the changes make it harder for workers to use any paid leave under their employer”™s benefit plan, including standard vacations, while on FMLA furlough.
And according to Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., the government clarified that companies can dock their workers bonuses that would otherwise be awarded covering the time that worker takes leave under FMLA.
