Pros And Cons Of The Family And Medical Leave Act

The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) is the only federal law that allows workers to care for themselves and family members without jeopardizing their jobs. Family and Medical Leave Act has been used more than 200 million times by workers since 1993, which has allowed them to take time away from their employment, without losing employment or insurance benefits, for the birth of a new child, care for loved ones or to care for themselves (FMLA, 2016). Many families face conflict between their work responsibilities and their home responsibilities, such as finding arrangements for their children or elderly family members. These conflicts are usually addressed by different child care providers or after school care programs, specialized care for the elderly or by parents simply altering their work schedule to meet their needs. However, when children become sick, an elderly parents’ health starts failing or one is welcoming the birth of a new child, regular arrangements often are not the answer. More times than not, these circumstances will require time away from employment to provide the necessary care. The Family and Medical Leave Act was created to cover these very

Many of the eligible Family and Medical Leave Act employees do not take the needed time off due to the leave being offered unpaid. They simply cannot afford to take the time off from work. Nevertheless, the Family and Medical Leave Act in the United States is less inclusive than many of the Western European country’s leave policies (Albeda, 2010). Many of these nations have maternity paid leave and over half have paternity and sick child care paid leave, while the United States has little to no paid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (Albeda,