...United States is the only country to not have a law granting paid family leave for mothers’ with a newborn. It was not until 1993, did the U.S. enact the Family and Medical Leave Act which allows workers time off to: bond with a newborn child; treat their own serious health condition; or care for a family member with a serious health condition. The intent for FMLA is to allow workers to balance family life with job obligations, but without wage replacement, many are unable to afford unpaid time off. Further, FMLA’s eligibility requirements exclude a substantial portion of the working population, primarily part-time, temporary, and vulnerable low-wage workers. Some states, such as California have taken action to ameloriate these pitfalls through paid family leave programs using state temporary disability insurance funds. California has been a frontrunner in many public health initiatives including being the first state to provide a comprehensive Paid Family Leave (PFL) program with “a wage replacement requirement for the time parents take to bond with a newborn or adopted child” (Cohen, 2011, p.2 ). This analysis will further examine California’s paid family leave program including its’ provisions, strengths, weaknesses, and its’ overall potential to be used as a template for future federal policy. Limited leave taking in the United States is largely a result of the eligibility restrictions for job-protected leave under FMLA and the inability to finance unpaid time off even if...
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...After watching Paid Family Leave with John Oliver, he goes through the requirements that certain companies have in order for you to go through a leave after you have a baby for only 12 weeks and its things such as having fifty or more employees, you have to have been there for over a year, you have to be a full time salary, and that means that 40 percent of people can’t apply. Most of the time these leaves are not paid and less than 12 weeks in the United States. In the podcast, Countries Around the World Beat the U.S on Paid Parental Leave states how paid parental leave looks right but the U.S is too far behind. I think we do not have it because America is so fast past and wants to be the quickest, newest, and up to date country that is filled with debt that it does not allow people to enjoy time with families....
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...Abstract Work-life balance effects families all over America. This paper examines many contributing factors that determine the work life balance of families and they include ethnicity, social status, type of work, work leave policies, flexibility of employers, and what industry employees are employed in. There are few government regulations that help with the work-life balance of employees. Most of the work-life balance decisions are made by the employee’s family structure and employers policies. When there are work life imbalances stress, spillover, and burnout occur at work and also effect the family. This literature review aims at looking at all the factors that contribute to the growing issue of work-life balance in America. Currently only one law, the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) passed by the United States (US) government gives employees unpaid time off for certain situations. The review reveals a lack of US government and private companies’ involvement in creating better work-life balance policies for employees. Work-Life Balance People across the United States struggle with work-life balance. Married and un-married people are just trying to make ends meet and provide for family. The same people have to make sure the house stays maintained and children are taken care of. Finding time for stress relieving activities or something enjoyable can be tough. Companies can help with work-life balance by providing certain policies to increase the satisfaction...
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...Situation A An employee with two years of service requested leave to be with his spouse as she was giving birth prematurely to twins. The requested leave was granted by a former manager under the FMLA guidelines. The employee has been on leave for eleven weeks and would like to come back to work. The employee is also requesting back pay for the eleven weeks that he has been gone. The new department manager has agreed to let the employee return to his previous position. However, the manager has denied the back pay for eleven weeks while the employee was on FMLA Leave. Under The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, there are three provisions that apply to the above situation. FMLA leave is job-protected leave. After returning from FMLA leave, an employee generally has the right to return to the same, or an equivalent, job with the same pay, benefits, and working conditions. FMLA leave is generally unpaid leave. However, an employee may substitute accrued paid leave (e.g., vacation or personal leave) for FMLA leave. Also, an employer may require an employee to substitute accrued paid leave for unpaid leave. An employee’s ability to substitute paid leave is determined by the terms and conditions of the employer’s normal leave policies. When paid leave is substituted for unpaid FMLA leave, the employee receives pay while on leave and receives the job protections of the FMLA. While an employee is on FMLA leave, an employer must maintain the employee’s group health insurance...
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...not Enough? The dynamics of the American family have changed. No longer is a working father, stay at home mother, and kids considered the norm. Even the definition of “family” has changed dramatically. Changes in the American “norm” raise an important question, “Should the Family and Medical Leave Act be changed?” to meet our communities evolving needs. In the United States, the current Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) only provides up to twelve weeks of unpaid leave, but compared to other counties with similar policies the act does not have enough coverage to protect the average worker and should be changed. A woman walks into her human resources office crying, asking to speak to someone. She is currently on FMLA leave to care for her sick child who has been diagnosed with leukemia. She is a single parent with two other children at home to care for as well. Even with insurance coverage, the bills are mounting because FMLA is unpaid and she has exhausted all of her personal time off (PTO). With her steady income cut-off, she is concerned how she will pay her bills. She has no close family to turn to for support and does not qualify for government assistance. Her story is just one example. According to the United State Census, in 2010 single parent households comprised about 9.6 percent of the total U.S. household population. There are about 10.4 million single-mother families and 2.5 million single father families. About 5.7 million, or 8 percent of the total...
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...Week 1 Interactive Assessment Read the Work, Family, Equity Index 2007 report and state your views on where the U.S. stands in terms of leave for illness and family care. State your views on the differences between the U.S. policy and those implemented in other countries. How do you think the U.S. policy impacts both the individual who is sick and their family members? Do you think the U.S. policy should change? If so briefly describe what you feel the U.S. policy should be. If not, state why you support the existing policy. Although the United States does not offer many of the benefits that the other countries have on illness leave and family care, the U.S. does offer benefits that are covered at most work places. Benefits to employees that the U.S. does offer includes policies that protect all people, regardless of sexual orientation, gender, etc. Other policies that are beneficial to employees of the United States includes a guaranteed paid premium for overtime work and paid leave for childbearing. The United States does not have as many policies as other countries that offer support to parents that are bearing children. In other countries, guaranteed leave is given to those in connection with childbirth and women’s right to breastfeed is fully backed with their country’s support. Also, the United States does not cover all workers who have serious illnesses and many of the U.S. employees are not paid during major events, such as weddings or funerals. The United States...
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...Running Header: Video Assignment Family Related Issues Strayer University Professor Whitney Davis, Esq. LEG 500 29 January 2012 Explain if it matters that a parent literally had nothing to do with a biological child in order for the child to take advantage of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to care for that parent. No, it does not matter if the parent was in the employee's life as long as it is the employee's parent then they are able to use FMLA. The type of relationship or lack thereof between a child and their biological parent has no bearing on whether an employee is eligible for FMLA. An employee can ask to use FMLA to care for a family member (whether they had nothing to do with them), for their own physical or mental health care and after the birth or adoption of a child. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides an entitlement of up to 12 weeks of job protected and unpaid leave during any 12 month period to eligible covered employees and employers must grant eligible employees this right. Explain whether the size of the business can have any effect on whether Tony is eligible for Family Leave under the FMLA. Yes, but not in the way Herman describes. Herman is trying to use business necessity as a reason to keep Tony from taking a family leave to help his ill father. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) applies to a company if there are over 50 employees within 75 miles of the worksite, and at least 50 of the employees’ work...
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...Paper Work and Family Sociologists have been concerned with institutional friction between work and family systems in the industrialized West as far back as the 1960's, when Lewis and Rose Laub Coser first labeled both the family and workplace as “greedy institutions” that monopolized individuals’ time and energy. Although the problem has been framed in different ways at different times and places, the essential sociological insight that ties them all together has been that the personal difficulties individuals face in trying to fulfill both family and paid work responsibilities are socially patterned and somewhat predictable given the competing logics of industrial production and family reproduction. The FMLA has been praised for supporting employee work/life issues and engendering a family-friendly workplace. However, its successes have not come without problems. Since its inception in 1993, employers have found FMLA certification, administration, tracking, and compliance confusing and problematic. Employers have argued that the law's ambiguous language makes it hard to certify, track, and administer leave, particularly intermittent leave. When the FMLA became law in February 1993, most women and children's advocacy groups were elated. However, many business groups protested that the law, which allows employees at companies with 50 or more workers up to 12 weeks' unpaid leave to care for himself or herself, a newborn, a newly adopted child, or a seriously ill family member--would...
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...Family Related Issues Explain if it matters that a parent literally had nothing to do with a biological child in order for the child to take advantage of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to care for that parent. Families in America today look different than they did in the past. The families of today have changed complexion, changed composition, and changed expectations, but not matter what the change is within a family, its function in our society remains the same. The function of a family is to provide for and nurture the development of future generations. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) also allows eligible employees to take up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave to care for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition. According to the FMLA statute, a “parent” is any person who is the biological parent of the employee or who stands, or stood, in loco parentis (in place of the parent) to the employee when the employee was a child. A person is considered “in loco parentis” if he has day-to-day responsibilities to care for and financially support a child, or in the case of an employee, who had this type of responsibility for the employee when the employee was a child. A biological or legal relationship is not necessary. Parents-in-law, however, are not included within the meaning of “parent.” (Michelle’s Law (Public Law 110-381), 2009) Explain whether the size of the business can have any effect on whether Tony is eligible for family leave under...
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...guidelines to employers. The Family Medical Leave Act of 1993, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, provide clear guidance to employers and employees when addressing workplace concerns. Employees and employers must understand the requirements of each law to ensure proper implementation and avoid conflict. Situation A Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Congress enacted The Family Medical Leave Act of 1993 to balance the workplace and personal needs of employees (J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc., 2011). The act provides protection for employees needing to take time off to address personal health needs and those of immediate family members. The act also provides time off to men and women to care for a new baby. In addition, the act provides stability to employees. Before the law was enacted, many employees faced the prospect of job loss if personal or family health issues prevented them from working. Employers must offer job protection to employees as long as proper notification and documentation is provided. Eligibility. There are specific eligibility requirements for Family Medical Leave. An employee is eligible for twelve work weeks of Family Medical Leave if the company has more than fifty employees, who commute within seventy five miles of the work location. Leave may be continuous, intermittent or a reduced schedule. Employees are required to work for the company twelve months prior to requesting leave. During the twelve months,...
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...The What, Why, How, and Who of the Family Leave and Medical Act Douglas E. Jones MGMT 5843 Current Issues in Human Resource Management Abstract The Family Leave and Medical Act is one of the acts approved by Congress to allow for an employee to have a certain amount of time to deal with a medical emergency. In this informa-tional paper, I will discuss the 4 major reasons for implementing of the FMLA. I will begin with what is FMLA, that is a thorough definition of FMLA and what it was originally intended for. Then I will proceed with the why of FMLA. Why was this act proposed and why was it passed into law. Next, I will discuss how the FMLA works. How is it supposed to work and is it actual-ly working? Included in this, I will present some case studies to that will present different as-pects of FMLA. And finally I will discuss who uses FMLA. Who was it intended to help, who it is actually helping and who it is harming. Also, I will present case studies that will either confirm or deny if the FMLA is working. Finally I will offer some possible solutions to help to fix what is broken with FMLA and even possibly offer some suggestions for further research on FMLA. Introduction FMLA is designed to allow certain family members up to 12 weeks unpaid leave for family emergencies. It was enacted in 1993 but has had some changes made to it due to legisla-tion. FMLA was originally designed to cover both employees and employers. Since its inception, there were...
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...of workers and provide guidelines to employers. The Family Medical Leave Act of 1993, the Act of 1990, and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, provide clear guidance to employers and employees when addressing workplace concerns. Employees and employers must understand the requirements of each law to ensure proper implementation and avoid conflict. Situation A Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Congress enacted The Family Medical Leave Act of 1993 to balance the workplace and personal needs of employees (J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc., 2011). The act provides protection for employees needing to take time off to address personal health needs and those of immediate family members. The act also provides time off to men and women to care for a new baby. In addition, the act provides stability to employees. Before the law was faced the prospect of job loss if personal or family health issues prevented them from working. Employers must offer job protection to employees as long as proper notification and documentation is provided. Eligibility. There are specific eligibility requirements for Family Medical Leave. An employee is eligible for twelve work weeks of Family Medical Leave if the company has more than fifty employees, who commute within seventy five miles of the work location. Leave may be continuous, intermittent or a reduced schedule. Employees are required to work for the company twelve months prior to requesting leave. During the twelve months, a minimum of 1250 worked hours...
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...her office and fired. The employee sues under the FMLA, claiming that she was fired instead of being granted needed medical leave. The district court granted the employer summary judgment, finding, that Stevenson never gave the employer notice that leave might be required. Stevenson v. Hyre Electric Company - FMLA This is a very confusing case, but it is very clear to me that the Plaintiff was in error of an amiable decision on this case. The fact of not providing the correct notice of FMLA in the allotted time was definitely the key in this case, had Stevenson provided the required documents, she would have won the judgment and there would have been no room for question. There is room for some doubt regarding this decision, however; it still goes back to the fact that she did not follow the proper protocol as required by the Defendant. Stray Animal Causes Disturbance In Workplace The Plaintiff was going through her usual duties when a dog got into the office through an open window. The presence of the animal in the workplace caused the Plaintiff to start to act in an unusual manner (jumping around, shouting, etc.) she got a headache, felt blood rushing to her head, and her neck tightening up, as a result of this incident the Plaintiff stated that she did not feel well and had to leave for the day. She called in sick the next day as well. In the next few weeks that came, she got into a screaming match with...
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...take into consideration the regulations of the Family and Medical Leave Act. The FMLA regulations protect employees by allowing for 12 weeks of unpaid leave during a 12 month work period. The employee is further protected by being allowed to return to their former position, with the same pay rate and benefits they had before taking leave. However, there are restrictions such as company size and how long the employee has worked for the company. For starters, our company has more than 50 employees and therefore, we are required to provide FMLA leave. Furthermore, Employee A has worked for the company for two years and the FMLA stipulates that an employee must be employed for at least 12 months. The facts of the case are that Employee A requested leave for the birth of his twins which was granted to him by the previous manager of his department. Our current department manager has allowed for Employee A to return to work and is continuing his pay at the rate prior to his leave. The cause for concern lies in the denial of recuperation of Employee A’s withheld salary during the 11 weeks he was on leave. When choosing to deny Employee A’s request to be paid the amount of the withheld salary, our current department manager is acting well within FMLA regulations. However, according to the Code of Federal Regulations, “FMLA permits an eligible employee to choose to substitute accrued paid leave for FMLA leave” (Substitution of Paid Leave, 2010). It would be in our best interests...
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...Situation A – Family Medical Leave Act of 1993 The Family Medical Leave Act, FMLA, requires that a covered employer must provide a qualified employee with twelve weeks of unpaid leave in any twelve-month period to care for oneself or a family member with a serious health condition. The FMLA requires twenty six weeks in any twelve month period for the care of a member of the armed forces. Within this act are a number of conditions and exceptions. A serious health condition that is covered by this act includes pregnancy, prenatal complications, birth of a child, adoption of a child, or fostering a child. The health conditions also include chronic condition, long-term conditions, hospitalization, and ongoing treatment conditions (FMLA). An employee may choose and an employer may require an employee to use any unused sick/medical leave, personal leave, family leave, and vacation for all of the twelve weeks or for however much time employee has in unused leave. The paid sick/medical leave can only be used if such conditions for would otherwise be accepted by the employer as provided in the employer’s handbook. The twelve weeks can be taken continuously, intermittently, or as reduced work schedule. An employer must continue to provide health insurance benefits during the twelve weeks as it would if employee was actively working. Upon returning to work the employer shall provide the employee with the same position or an equivalent position with equivalent pay as the employee...
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