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Family Medical Leave Act Of 1993 Analysis

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To gain a better understanding of how acts of congress are formed from inception to enactment there are various methodologies one can use. For this paper I will be using the Analytical Framework methodology as described in our class textbook, The Struggle for Democracy by authors Edward Greenberg and Benjamin Page. The congressional act I’ve chosen to explore is one of great importance to all working Americans. The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 specifically deals with the need of our nation’s workforce as it relates to work/life balance. The purpose of this paper is for the reader to gain an understanding of how the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 came to be signed into law by providing the context of why the need for such a …show more content…
However, the FMLA does not preempt a state statute from providing more generous leave rights and benefits (Decker 93). Refer to Appendix “B” for the full list of the states which mandate employers provide family/medical leave to employees as well as eligibility requirements for specific states. Although there is state legislation in place for the majority of the United States, according to Stephanie Bovee’s journal article “The Family Medical Leave Act: State Sovereignty and the Narrowing of the Fourteenth Amendment”, some court decisions have utilized the doctrine of sovereignty, under the Eleventh Amendment of our United States Constitution, to limit the ability of private plaintiffs to sue state governments which translates to the impediment of state employees’ ability to sue their employers for FMLA violations (Bovee 1012). This article discusses the Supreme Court’s interpretation of section five of the Fourteenth Amendment of our United States Constitution, and asserts that the majority of the courts do not agree that the FMLA is Fourteenth Amendment legislation. This interpretation means that Congress does not have the authority to repeal state immunity under the FMLA, therefore limiting Congress’ ability to enforce equal protection (Bovee …show more content…
In reviewing the legislative history (located in Appendix “C”) there were minimal changes to each iteration of the FMLA at each presentation to Congress. Most notably are the changes in the number of weeks allowed for time off and the specificity of applying differing leave times, according to the type of leave (i.e. for the birth of a child, caring for a sick child or ailing family member). The major dependency for the passage of the FMLA was the composition of the parties within Congress and the party of the President. When the FMLA was first introduced in 1984 the Congress was dominated by the Republican party. Likewise, we had Republican President Ronald Reagan in office from 1981 to 1989, and Republican President George H.W. Bush from 1989 to 1993. For that reason, the FMLA was unsuccessful in 1991 and 1992 even though it had passed in Congress as President George H.W. Bush had vetoed it both years. This would seem to support that President Bush’s “read my lips” mantra, with regards to his promise not to raise taxes, influenced his decision to veto the FMLA. The legislation, which passed in 1993 (signed into law by President Bill Clinton) was almost identical to the legislation vetoed by President Bush in 1991 and 1992

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