Employee Safety, Health, and Welfare Law Paper: Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

Essay by inspirationalUniversity, Bachelor's May 2008

download word file, 4 pages 3.0

Currently, I work for a company that acknowledges the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) but since becoming an employee of the company, I have never seen anyone take leave to care for him or herself or a family member. The company I work for extremely family oriented and if someone needed to take time off to care for someone in their family, Commercial Interiors, Inc. would not hesitate to allow them time off to do so. In this paper, I will go further into detail regarding FMLA currently in the employment environment and describe the motivation to imply such an act and how it evolved from organized labor activity to a more widespread application.

The Family and Medical leave Act of 1993 is a United States labor law that allows employees to leave work due to a sickness or serious health issue of a family member. "It was one of the first major bills signed by President Bill Clinton in his first term fulfilling a campaign promise."

(n.d. Wiki) This act signed by President Bill Clinton allowed employees to maintain their jobs while caring for family members or themselves. This act may confuse many employees because many people do not understand the particulars of FMLA.

Employers must set up standards and guidelines that comply with the law regarding FMLA so that employees are clear what is expected if FMLA is necessary. What one person may consider a serious health condition, another may not, these are guidelines that employers must identify within the policies and procedures for a FMLA request and these guidelines and laws are often confusing. Who determines what a serious health condition is to qualify for FMLA. There are many challenges employers must face when a request for FMLA is entered. Many employers allow employees to utilize...