On...20th Anniversary Of The Family Medical Leave Act, Meet The Republican Men Who Voted Against It

[ProSense]

On The 20th Anniversary Of The Family Medical Leave Act, Meet The Republican Men Who Voted Against It

By Adam Peck

Twenty years ago today, President Bill Clinton signed the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The law, which passed with bipartisan support, gave workers new job protections in the event of a pregnancy or family medical emergency, mandating 12 weeks of unpaid leave. And while FMLA has failed to cover all workers — only employers with more than 50 workers are bound by the law, for instance, and as many as 40 percent of the workforce remains ineligible for FMLA protections — the FMLA has helped millions of women keep their jobs while caring for their newborn child.

And yet in 1993, 163 congressmen in the House voted against the bill. Twenty years later, 19 of those nay votes remain in the House of Representatives, and all of them have a few things in common — namely, their gender and their race:



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http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/02/05/1540251/fmla-republicans/

Oh look, it's Mr. Tears.

Eight Senators Vote To Block Violence Against Women Act
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022313152

[ProSense]

1. 4 Reasons To Update The Family And Medical Leave Act For The 21st Century

4 Reasons To Update The Family And Medical Leave Act For The 21st Century

By Pat Garofalo

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The law was a huge step forward at the time, and has been used 100 million times since its enactment. However, the law does not go far enough. Here are some of the reasons it needs to be updated:

1. It doesn’t cover 40 percent of workers. Due to FMLA restrictions, 2 in 5 workers are not eligible for its protections. Small businesses are exempt from the law, and employees need to have worked “a minimum of 1,250 hours in the 12 months before their leave is to begin” for FMLA to apply. According to the Department of Labor, more than 6 percent of workers “had an unmet need for leave in the past 18 months.”

2. It doesn’t cover care for a grandparent, same-sex partner, or many others. Workers are not eligible to use FMLA leave to care for “parents-in-law, grandparents, grandchildren, siblings, domestic partners, or same-sex spouses,” ignoring the reality of today’s families.

3. Many workers can’t afford to use unpaid leave. Nearly half of workers who don’t access leave for which they are eligible say they do so because of the cost. The U.S. has no national policy regarding paid sick leave, which would give workers the opportunity to take time off while sick without worrying about losing their pay along with it.

4. The U.S. isn’t keeping up with the rest of the world. The U.S. is the only developed country that fails to provide some form of paid sick leave and is one of only three countries on Earth that doesn’t require paid maternity leave. As Bryce Covert noted at The Nation, “single parents in this country are the worst off compared to 16 other high-income countries, despite the fact that we have the highest rates of single parenthood.”

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http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/02/05/1540911/20-years-fmla-more/