DOL report shows business
concerns over FMLA

(Aug. 1, 2007) Businesses are generally supportive of the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) but have concerns about aspects of it that are affecting their workplaces. That's according to a recent U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) report about the more than 15,000 public comments it received about the federal act.

According to the DOL, between 8% and 17% of eligible workers took time off under the FMLA in 2005. Nearly 25% of those workers took at least some of that leave on an intermittent basis.

General business feedback about the FMLA was positive, particularly for the most clear-cut medical conditions such as pregnancy. But unscheduled intermittent leave was the most serious area of friction between employers and employees. Such unscheduled intermittent leaves particularly affect small businesses and certain types of industries and worksites.

The DOL heard from many employers, such as delivery, transportation, telecommunications, health care, manufacturing, and public safety businesses, whose operations have highly time-sensitive components.

Employees usually do not schedule family medical leaves in advance, and that puts employers at a disadvantage when they have to quickly arrange cover for the work that will not get done.

Many Connecticut companies cannot afford to operate when employees are absent for prolonged periods of time. Companies have to pay and train replacement worker for the employee on leave, or pay co-workers overtime to shoulder the expanded workload.

Another of the problems with the FMLA is determining what constitutes a "serious health condition." It's an issue that has created an administrative nightmare for employers.

While the report has no proposals for regulatory change, the DOL says it could prompt further discussion on how certain FMLA provisions and interpretations affect the workplace.

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