Gathering Place
Judith L. Lichtman and Roy Takumi
Family leave act eases
life’s hardships, but
workers need more helpA man takes four weeks away from work to care for his ailing spouse and is not fired or replaced during his absence. A woman takes eight weeks of leave to help her dying father and retains her seniority and job security when she returns to work. New parents take time away from their jobs to bond with their new baby with no fear of being fired.
More than a decade ago, these scenarios would have been highly improbable -- wishful thinking at best for most workers. But today they are reality for millions of Americans.
That is because 10 years ago -- on Aug. 5, 1993 -- the Family & Medical Leave Act took effect. For the first time, Americans have been able to take time off from work to care for their loved ones or to recover from their own illnesses without putting their jobs at risk.
This week we celebrate that achievement. The FMLA is one of the most significant advances for working women and families in our nation's history. It gives covered workers as many as 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for newborns, newly adopted children and seriously ill family members, or to recover from their own serious health problems.
The act has had an enormous impact on working families across the nation. During the past decade it has allowed more than 40 million Americans to better manage the demands of work and family. It has made our families stronger, our communities healthier and our workplaces more family-friendly.
The FMLA was a critical first step, but it alone is not enough. Our nation's workplace policies remain out of sync with the needs of working families. Workers' No. 1 career concern is finding time for family, according to a survey by Office Team, the world's largest specialized temporary staffing service for administrative professionals. This is especially true in Hawaii since we lead the nation in two-wage-earner families, leaving precious little time to care for sick children and other family members.
even with the FMLA, many workers are unable to take leave when their families need them most because they cannot afford to take unpaid leave. A national survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor in 2000 found that more than three in four employees who needed but did not take leave cited lost wages as the reason. From 1993 to 2000, 3.5 million people needed leave but stayed on the job. Seventy-eight percent of them said they could not afford it. A significant number of leave-takers who received less than full pay during their longest period of leave had to go on public assistance to cover their lost wages.
The United States lags far behind other nations in helping citizens manage work and family. America and Australia are the only industrialized countries without paid maternity or paternity leave. Americans want family and medical leave to be more affordable and accessible, and they support programs that provide income during leave. In fact, 79 percent of working women believe access to paid family and medical leave is more important than increased pay, promotions and job flexibility, according to a 2002 survey by the AFL-CIO.
Fortunately, state lawmakers are beginning to recognize this urgent need. In 2002, California adopted a comprehensive paid family leave law. Paid leave bills have been introduced in 27 other states, including Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New York and Texas. This past session, Hawaii took a step in the right direction with the passage of a law that requires companies of more than 100 employees to allow workers to use as many as 10 days of sick leave to care for a family member.
Paid family leave is essential to working women and men. On the 10th anniversary of the FMLA, we should reaffirm our commitment to working families by pledging to support paid family and medical leave. No one should have to choose between a paycheck and caring for a sick family member or meeting his or her own medical needs.
Judith L. Lichtman is the president of the National Partnership for Women & Families. Rep. Roy Takumi (D, Pearl City-Palisades) is chairman of the House Education Committee and a longtime proponent of family leave legislation.
