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dampscribblerI read this right after lunch today, and found myself getting so angry I had to stop, walk away, and come back to it half an hour later.
I'm still so frustrated and angry that I'm having trouble finding my own words to talk about this. I'd wait til I've cooled down, but I think it's important that everyone see this as soon as possible because the period for public comment is only open through Friday. So, without permission, I'm going to excerpt Judith Warner's blog entry. As I understand it, it is only available for subscribers to the New York Times or Times Select to read, although here's the link for anyone who wants to try:
http://warner.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/02/08/chipping-away-at-family-leave/
All added emphases are mine.
...In response to pressure from business groups, the Department of Labor has put out an official request for information on the Family and Medical Leave Act to find out if, as critics contend, the law is too generous and places an undue burden on employers who are required to comply with it.
...
A recent study from the McGill University Institute for Health and Social Policy in Montreal found that of 173 countries surveyed, 168 guaranteed women paid maternity leave. The United States – along with Lesotho, Liberia, Papua New Guinea and Swaziland – was not one of them. Eighty-six million working Americans have no paid sick days to use to care for ill children, and nearly one in two workers – 59 million in all – has no paid sick leave at all. (For more sad statistics, see the McGill study.)
Me again, now. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is arguably the best thing to happen for the labor force since the very early 20th century. Despite that, it is far less than most other countries guarantee for their citizens. Illness, family changes, family crises -- these are all facts of life. Reasonable employers recognize this (many American companies have policies more generous than those required by law, including benefits like 2-6 weeks of paid time off for delivering a baby and paid sick time in addition to vacation time.) Imagine for a minute that your child or your parent has to have emergency surgery and she or he will need constant or near-constant care throughout a six- to ten-week recovery period. Without FMLA, you might lose your job if you stay home to care for your loved one. With FMLA, your employer is required to keep your job or, under certain conditions, a similar job, for you while you take up to 12 weeks per year to care for a family member, or to recover from a medical condition yourself. FMLA provides a basic protection to employees to keep their jobs while experiencing life events. FMLA does not provide for an employee to be paid by the employer while on leave. All it does is keep the employer from firing their employee for doing what ought to be considered a basic human right -- caring for their loved ones in times of need.
The businesses will be weighing in with their opinions during the comment period. Employees should have the opportunity to do so, as well. Now is your opportunity to tell the government that FMLA works and any burden it places on businesses is more than outweighed by the good it does for workers.
The comment period ends Friday. PLEASE do this NOW.
Again, the portal for posting your comments is here:
http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmlacomments.htm
Follow the instructions posted to get to the actual comment page.
Please spread the word -- post this to your LJ or blog, parenting/family/work forums you belong to, and email it to anyone you think will take a few minutes to comment by Friday.
I'm still so frustrated and angry that I'm having trouble finding my own words to talk about this. I'd wait til I've cooled down, but I think it's important that everyone see this as soon as possible because the period for public comment is only open through Friday. So, without permission, I'm going to excerpt Judith Warner's blog entry. As I understand it, it is only available for subscribers to the New York Times or Times Select to read, although here's the link for anyone who wants to try:
http://warner.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/02/08/chipping-away-at-family-leave/
All added emphases are mine.
...In response to pressure from business groups, the Department of Labor has put out an official request for information on the Family and Medical Leave Act to find out if, as critics contend, the law is too generous and places an undue burden on employers who are required to comply with it.
...
A recent study from the McGill University Institute for Health and Social Policy in Montreal found that of 173 countries surveyed, 168 guaranteed women paid maternity leave. The United States – along with Lesotho, Liberia, Papua New Guinea and Swaziland – was not one of them. Eighty-six million working Americans have no paid sick days to use to care for ill children, and nearly one in two workers – 59 million in all – has no paid sick leave at all. (For more sad statistics, see the McGill study.)
The Family and Medical Leave Act, which President Clinton signed into law back in 1993, offers only the most basic and restricted protections: 12 weeks of unpaid leave for new parents or those who need time off to tend to their own or a relative’s “serious illness.” Yet, these restrictions, a coalition of business groups is now coming forward to insist, simply aren’t restrictive enough. They say employees are abusing their right to medical leave, taking off work for mental health days, for cosmetic surgery and for things like “pink eye, ingrown toenails and colds,” as the Orwellian-sounding National Coalition to Protect Family Leave, an industry group, has put it.
In the coming weeks, the business groups will be submitting a host of comments of this nature to the Department of Labor. (If you’d like to weigh in, perhaps with a reality check, you can do so, before Feb. 16, at this Web site.)
Me again, now. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is arguably the best thing to happen for the labor force since the very early 20th century. Despite that, it is far less than most other countries guarantee for their citizens. Illness, family changes, family crises -- these are all facts of life. Reasonable employers recognize this (many American companies have policies more generous than those required by law, including benefits like 2-6 weeks of paid time off for delivering a baby and paid sick time in addition to vacation time.) Imagine for a minute that your child or your parent has to have emergency surgery and she or he will need constant or near-constant care throughout a six- to ten-week recovery period. Without FMLA, you might lose your job if you stay home to care for your loved one. With FMLA, your employer is required to keep your job or, under certain conditions, a similar job, for you while you take up to 12 weeks per year to care for a family member, or to recover from a medical condition yourself. FMLA provides a basic protection to employees to keep their jobs while experiencing life events. FMLA does not provide for an employee to be paid by the employer while on leave. All it does is keep the employer from firing their employee for doing what ought to be considered a basic human right -- caring for their loved ones in times of need.
The businesses will be weighing in with their opinions during the comment period. Employees should have the opportunity to do so, as well. Now is your opportunity to tell the government that FMLA works and any burden it places on businesses is more than outweighed by the good it does for workers.
The comment period ends Friday. PLEASE do this NOW.
Again, the portal for posting your comments is here:
http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmlacomments.htm
Follow the instructions posted to get to the actual comment page.
Please spread the word -- post this to your LJ or blog, parenting/family/work forums you belong to, and email it to anyone you think will take a few minutes to comment by Friday.
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