Family Medical Leave Act Overview and Update
             In response to the increasing need for employees "to balance the demands of the workplace with the needs of families, to promote the stability and economic security of families, and to promote national interests in preserving family integrity," (Fish, Jr., 1999) Congress passed the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) in 1993. Without a policy such as the FMLA, many employees often had to choose to return to work prematurely, give up their jobs, or fail to provide the care and support their family member needed.
             Since first being enacted, it is estimated that between twelve and twenty million workers have made use of the rights established in the FMLA. "The FMLA provides eligible employees with the right to an unpaid leave of absence to bond with a new child, to care for a family member with a serious health condition, or to obtain treatment and otherwise recover from an employee's own serious health condition." (Fish, Jr., 1999) An eligible employee can utilize this leave for up to twelve weeks. An employee who exercises use of the FMLA is entitled to continued health insurance coverage under the same terms as those supplied while regularly attending work and is guaranteed a reinstatement to the same or an equivalent position.
             FMLA covers employees at all public agencies without regard to the number of employees employed. In reference to coverage of private employers, there are certain conditions that must be met. These conditions include that the employee must have been employed for at least twelve months and worked 1,250 hours prior to leave as well as being employed by a company having fifty or more employees within a seventy-five mile radius.
             Leaves under this act may be taken as continuous leave, intermittent leave or on a reduced leave schedule depending on the circumstances. Intermittent leaves and reduced leave schedules are currently allowed only when medically n...