[Pacg] Action Alert - Send your comments in support of the Family and Medical Leave Act

[Carolina 1961]

>From the Women's Issues Forum / QC NOW:

Invigorate, Don't Decimate, the Family and Medical Leave Act

Action Needed:

The Department of Labor has asked us to tell them what we think about the
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and we have a week to tell them:
"Invigorate, do not decimate, the Family and Medical Leave Act".

*Send your comments <http://lists.now.org/t/422420/2476389/1355704/0/>* and
*spread the word <http://lists.now.org/t/422420/2476389/1355705/0/>*.

In response to complaints from the Chamber of
Commerce<http://lists.now.org/t/422420/2476389/1355706/0/>and big
business owners <http://lists.now.org/t/422420/2476389/1355707/0/>, the U.S.
Department of Labor has issued a request for *public comments* related to
the regulation and administration of the Family and Medical Leave Act
(FMLA). Since this administration is no friend of working families, we know
this is an initial step toward blocking even more families from taking the
unpaid leave provided by the FMLA. *We must show our support of FMLA to
ensure that policies for productive workers and healthy families are in
place*.

*Send your comments <http://lists.now.org/t/422420/2476389/1355704/0/>* in
support of FMLA before Friday, February 16.

Background:

The Family and Medical Leave Act has helped hard-working people balance
their work and family responsibilities. Since 1993, the FMLA has provided
essential protections for millions of workers who need time off for their
own or a family member's serious illness, or to care for a newborn or newly
adopted child. This guaranteed, albeit unpaid, leave is currently available
and being used by millions of parents and caregivers.

The majority of U.S. employers covered by the Act [note: all public sector
employers are covered and 11% of all private sector businesses are covered
by FMLA] report that the FMLA has had little or no impact on their business
operations or productivity. However a small group of highly influential big
business employers has consistently complained that current FMLA regulations
impose unreasonable restrictions and costs on employers and have contributed
to a significant rise in unjustified absenteeism.

However, the government's own data does not support these claims. Leading
human resource experts contend that problematic leave-taking and
productivity loss in some workplaces is more likely to be a product of inept
or outdated management practices rather than worker abuse or these
family-friendly labor regulations.

Anti-FMLA employers, led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, are calling for
changes to the Act that would reduce the number of covered health conditions
and prevent eligible workers from taking unpaid leave in increments of less
than four hours. Partly in response to employer complaints, the U.S.
Department of Labor has issued this request for public comments related to
the regulation and administration of the FMLA. While general comments are
invited, the Dept. of Labor's formal Request for Information (RFI) also
seeks new and unpublished data on the effects of FMLA leave-taking on
business outcomes -- information that potentially could be used to justify
the implementation of more restrictive regulations if FMLA opponents have
their way.

We must counter these business complaints with our own stories and our
fervor for this important national workplace policy.

*Send your comments NOW. <http://lists.now.org/t/422420/2476389/1355704/0/>*

*Improvements:*

While the FMLA falls far short of the comprehensive work-life policies
needed to address the basic needs of the 21st century workforce and protect
mothers' and caregivers' economic rights, NOW strongly opposes any
regulatory changes that would further limit the scope of the Act. In fact,
NOW supports PAID sick and family leave, and supports expanding the FMLA to
cover more workers. It is vital to provide a livable level of wage
replacement to workers who need longer, continuous periods of time off for
infant care or their own or a family member's or loved one's urgent health
needs. There must be guaranteed protection for caring for same- and
opposite-sex domestic partners with a serious illness. For the health of our
children it must also cover normal, contagious childhood illnesses with
potentially serious complications, such as strep throat and chicken pox.
Finally, it must allow parents to take up to 20 hours of intermittent FMLA
leave a year to attend school-related meetings and activities.

*Take action now <http://lists.now.org/t/422420/2476389/1355704/0/>* -- tell
the Department of Labor to do the right thing and protect the rights of
workers, the obligations of parents and the health of our nation's families
by preserving and expanding the FMLA, not undercutting and restricting it.

*Public comments must be received no later than Friday, February 16, 2007. *
*Please submit your response
today<http://lists.now.org/t/422420/2476389/1355704/0/>
* and *pass this on <http://lists.now.org/t/422420/2476389/1355705/0/>* to
all your family, friends and colleagues.

*Resources: *

   - Background Information on the Dept. of Labor's Request for Comments
   on the FMLA from the FMLA
Coalition<http://lists.now.org/t/422420/2476389/1355708/0/>(PDF)
   - NOW fact sheet on FMLA
provisions<http://lists.now.org/t/422420/2476389/1355709/0/>
   - Judith Stadtman Tucker, work-life expert and member of NOW's Mothers
   and Caregivers Economic Rights advisory committee: "Hands Off My
FMLA<http://lists.now.org/t/422420/2476389/1355636/0/>
   "
   - National Partnership for Women and Families' Work on
FMLA<http://lists.now.org/t/422420/2476389/1355710/0/>
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