The Women’s Legal Defense Fund in 1984 came up with a draft of the legislation that was later to be the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The legislation was later introduced to the Congress each year from 1984 to 1993 but was repeatedly blocked by entrenched opponents. The Congress finally passed the legislation in 1991 and was passed by the 103rd Congress in 1993 which was the only Congress that had a majority that President Bill Clinton had. The legislation also had some support from the Republicans including support from Sen. John McCain.
Why It Was Created
The Family and Medical Leave Act was meant to balance the workplace demands with the family’s needs. The Act permits employees who are eligible to have up to …show more content…
In this case, however, no time frame for this notice is established.
What the Future Holds For the Act
When the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was signed in 1993 by former President Clinton, it acknowledged the manner in which workplaces and families have changed and the need to have a common sense family-work policies in order to ensure that no employee has to choose a good family member and being a good worker. However, the recent past has witnessed a stall in the progress of the act. The future also appears to witness the stall in the progress of the act unless the coming administration directs it to the right directions (Han and Waldfogel, …show more content…
Why or Why Not?
The efforts by Family and Medical Leave Act have remarkable since it was enacted in relation to compensation and leave for employees. In order to retain and acquire quality employees, most of the employers tend to offer employees several fringe benefits that include sick leave, vacation pay, holiday pay, paid time off, child care, jury duty pay, and discounts on merchandise, food, or services none of the mentioned above is mandated by the government (Waldfogel, 2001).
Following this position, then family leave should not be any different. Whether it is being offered by the employer or it is paid or not paid, and how long it takes, it should remain a matter that needs to be settled by the agreement between the employee and employer. This means that there should be no leave that is government-mandated any more than there should be other fringe benefits that are government-mandated.
Also, now that the Family and Medical Leave Act mandates several forms of leave that are applicable more by the female employees as compared to the male employees the act males women employees more expensive as compared to the male employees. This makes employers discriminate employees on the basis of their gender during their hiring process just as the case of 1978 Pregnancy Discrimination