...medical emergency. In this informa-tional paper, I will discuss the 4 major reasons for implementing of the FMLA. I will begin with what is FMLA, that is a thorough definition of FMLA and what it was originally intended for. Then I will proceed with the why of FMLA. Why was this act proposed and why was it passed into law. Next, I will discuss how the FMLA works. How is it supposed to work and is it actual-ly working? Included in this, I will present some case studies to that will present different as-pects of FMLA. And finally I will discuss who uses FMLA. Who was it intended to help, who it is actually helping and who it is harming. Also, I will present case studies that will either confirm or deny if the FMLA is working. Finally I will offer some possible solutions to help to fix what is broken with FMLA and even possibly offer some suggestions for further research on FMLA. Introduction FMLA is designed to allow certain family members up to 12 weeks unpaid leave for family emergencies. It was enacted in 1993 but has had some changes made to it due to legisla-tion. FMLA was originally designed to cover both employees and employers. Since its inception, there were some issues with it and the government and several other agencies have worked to-gether to attempt to make FMLA better and more manageable. All employers with 50 or more employees are "covered employers" under FMLA, the same is true for public employers of primary and secondary schools, regardless of the number of...
Words: 3559 - Pages: 15
...Members) of unpaid work and secures the employees job. The Family Medical Leave Act was created to give employee the right to take care of love ones and themselves during Medical condition. It gives employee the right to take responsibilities of natural ways of life such as the birth of a child, adoption of a child, and the care of a love on in serious illness. Even if the employee is unable to work do to medical purposes, they employee also has the benefit to take time off. Explain if it matters that a parent literally had nothing to do with a biological child in order for the child to take advantage of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to care for that parent. The Family Medical Leave Act specifically states that an employee has the right to take advantage of the FMLA benefit that he/she is covered under to take care of a member of family such as child, spouse, or parent in serious health conditions. There is no rule that exempts a child from caring for the parent regardless of the relationship, or financial responsibility (Halbert & Ingulli, 2011). In the video between Tony and Herman, Tony explained to Herman that he had intension of taking care of his sick father. Herman agreed with the idea, but then disagreed about the caring of Tony’s father once Herman found out that Tony wanted to take a 3 week...
Words: 1685 - Pages: 7
...FMLA and ADD Wendy Lavoie Rasmussen College Author Note This paper is being submitted on May 17, 2015, for Cregg McKinney’s Business Law course. FMLA and ADD The Family Medical Leave Act is an act put into place to help employees of covered employers to take a leave of absence to care for a person in their immediate family. The Family Medical Leave Act covers certain things such as; birth and care of the eligible employee’s child or placement for adoption or foster care of a child, care for an immediate family member (spouse, child, parent) who has a serious health condition, or care of the employees own serious health condition. In the event of Jeffery Perry needing to take a leave of absence to take care of his son Victor who had some disabilities, Victor’s disabilities were not serious and pose health threats. In order for Jeffery to get approved his son would have to be deemed serious like a life altering event. Since Victor’s disabilities were common manageable disabilities in which didn’t need extensive medical treatment it was not covered under the act. I do not feel that the Jaguar of Troy was out of compliance with the Family Medical Leave Act. It was looked at as if the case was not a serious case since the disabilities did not require frequent visits to the doctors then it was not considered to be serious. It would have been nice for the company to hold his job for him so that he could deal with child and get his child under control but since it was...
Words: 293 - Pages: 2
...Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to care for that parent? Yes, that can be an important thing because exist a current relationship with his father and does not eliminate him from having FMLA. “The FMLA allows an eligible employee with a total of 12 workweeks of leave during any 12 month period. In this case he wants to care for his father although he was absent for almost all Tony’s life eventhough if the employee’s parent has a serious health condition. So that he needs a leave for that. (Halbert- Ingulli, 2010, p 137).” We can note that Parent means a biological, adoptive, step or foster father or mother, or any other individual who stood in loco parentis to the employee when the employee was a son or daughter as defined in paragraph (c) of this section. This term does not include parents “in law.” 2. Does it matter whether the size of the business can have any effect on whether Tony is eligible for family leave under the FMLA? Yes, that matter because the fact is that this company has more than 50 employees that has effect in Tony’s eligibility. The FMLA applies to all employers with 50 or more employees on the payroll (including part-timers and employees on leave) in 20 or more workweeks (not necessarily consecutive) in the current or preceding calendar year. Under the current FMLA, covered employers must grant an eligible employee up to a total of 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave during a 12-month period for any the “FMLA-qualifying” events. An “eligible...
Words: 1347 - Pages: 6
...Leave Act (FMLA) to care for that parent. According to the (FMLA) the personal relationship of the child and biological parent is not a factor in being eligible for (FMLA). The Family and Medical Leave Act does not state that parent must have been involved in the lives of the children or the children be involved in the lives of the parent. The Family does not require the parent to physically or financially supportive of the child. A parent could been out of their child life for various reasons. The parent could have had financial difficulties, incarcerated, or unaware of the child. 2. Explain whether the size of the business can have any effect on whether Tony is eligible for family leave under the FMLA. The Family and Medical Leave Act state that an employer must have a staff of 50 or more employees that live within 75 miles of the business for an employee to eligible for the Family and Medical Leave Act. The total number of employees can be full-time, part-time, or temporary employees and also have been employed or on the payroll with the company for 20 or more weeks during the current year or the previous year. If the company meet or exceed those stipulations, that company is covered under the Family and Medical Leave Act for both years. In the video Tony stated that Rally Motors has over 50 employees that include full-time and part-time employees. 3. Explain whether Herman can or cannot imply that if Tony takes a leave of absence under the FMLA, he may not...
Words: 920 - Pages: 4
...The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was devised to provide job stability and protection to individuals necessitating an extended period of time off work. Enacted in 1993 by President Bill Clinton, the purpose of this law is to permit qualified employees a leave of absence because of a variety of personal, medical, or serious circumstances. The FMLA allows employees to take up to 12 weeks of leave, under the stipulation that they will not be paid, their benefits coverage will stay intact, and their job will be reinstated upon their return. A few common situations in which individuals use FMLA are pregnancy (maternity leave), serious health condition of the employee, or need to take care of one’s ailing dependent (spouse, child, or parent). The FMLA provides necessary assistance to individuals who are experiencing difficulty. Inevitably, life will include some level of medical hardship or serious event; the FMLA is there to serve as a cushion. This is typically seen as the biggest advantage of the FMLA. However, nothing is perfect- the FMLA is notoriously difficult for HR departments to track due to the volume of paperwork (doctor’s notes, benefits statements, insurance claims, etc) involved. Employees can abuse this law by taking intermittent leave- a week here, a week there. This can be disruptive to the organization’s productivity. Employers can choose whether or not to continue paying the employee’s salary during FMLA leave. However, regardless of that choice, there are...
Words: 267 - Pages: 2
...Herman mentions that the dealership is a small business and that everyone’s presence is dependent in the increase of sales. In turn, Tony points out that Herman has more than 50 employees, and that he should give one of the employees the opportunity to work fulltime. According to, the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, employees are eligible for FMLA if they work for a public agency or a private sector where the employer has 50 or more employees who work within a 75-mile radius. Herman gets mad when Tony, the top performing sales man of a local auto dealership, decided he is going to take a family medical leave to help his seriously ill father. Herman, the owner of the dealership, argues that if tony take a substantial amount of time off, it would jeopardize the sales of the company. Herman mentions that the dealership is a small business and that everyone’s presence is dependent in the increase of sales. In turn, Tony points out that Herman has more than 50 employees, and that he should give one of the employees the opportunity to work fulltime. According to, the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, employees are eligible for FMLA if they work for a public agency or a private sector where the employer has 50 or more employees who work within a 75-mile...
Words: 289 - Pages: 2
...child in order for the child to take advantage of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to care for that parent. The way that the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is written, it does not specify whether or not a biological parent participated in the upbringing of the child or not. The definition of a parent is broad for the purpose of FMLA use. A parent is defined as a biological parent, adoptive parent, step parent, foster parent or an individual who assumed duties as your parent. An individual that assumes duties as your parent is called “loco parentis”. If an employee is trying to take leave for his or her loco parentis they may be required to provide documentation of the relationship. In this case Tony has asked to take leave to move his father from the nursing home to his apartment. According to FMLA the parent must be qualified as having a “serious illness” In my opinion moving his parent of the nursing home isn’t a qualifying event according to FMLA standards. Regardless, the answer to the question is, no it doesn’t matter if the biological parent had anything to do with the biological child for the child to take advantage of FMLA. 2. Explain whether the size of the business can have any effect on whether Tony is eligible for family leave under the FMLA. In the private sector, the size of the business does matter when it comes to the Family Medical Leave Act. “The FMLA applies only to employers who have had 50 or more full, part-time, or temporary employees...
Words: 1359 - Pages: 6
...One of the FMLA laws that was revised was it entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons. The FMLA also includes certain military family leave provisions. The Department of Labor issued a Final Rule on February 25, 2015 revising the regulatory definition of spouse under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA). The FMLA entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons. The Final Rule amends the regulatory definition of spouse under the FMLA so that eligible employees in legal same-sex marriages will be able to take FMLA leave to care for their spouse or family member, regardless of where they live. This will ensure that the FMLA will give spouses in same-sex marriages the same ability as all spouses to fully exercise their FMLA rights. The effective date for the final rule is March 27, 2015. So what that is saying now is that it does not have to be a man that a woman is married to and the partner of the woman as long as they are married can also have leave. It does not have to be the opposite sex no more. It as well says that it does not have to be the state that you were married in as well. About time it is changes. The Department has moved from a “state of residence” rule to a “place of celebration” rule for the definition of spouse under the FMLA regulations. The Final Rule changes the regulatory definition...
Words: 1593 - Pages: 7
...LEG-500 1/30/11 Explain if it matters that a parent literally had nothing to do with a biological child in order for the child to take advantage of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to care for that parent? It does not matter if the parent had any thing to do with the child growing up or not, that person is still the parent. “The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) were signed into law in 1993 as a means of addressing the changing needs of workers' family responsibilities. Under the law, anyone who works in a company that employs 50 or more people can take up to 12 weeks of medical leave per year without threat of losing his or her job. FMLA covers both pregnancy and ADOPTION, as well as caring for a seriously ill relative. It also covers the individual employee's own serious illnesses.” (enotes, 2011). “Simply stated, FMLA guarantees employees that they can take up to 12 weeks of either family leave (to handle adoption proceedings, for example) or medical leave (to take care of a recuperating parent) per year. Anyone who has worked for an employer for at least 1,250 hours and 12 months is entitled to leave under FMLA. Employees can take both family and medical leave during the year, but the total amount of time cannot exceed 12 weeks. If an employee requesting leave under FMLA has accrued sick time and vacation time, the employer can require that this time be included in the 12–week leave. In other words, if an employee has two weeks of paid vacation time...
Words: 3055 - Pages: 13
...Family And Medical Leave Act The Family and Medical Leave Act were signed by the President on February 5, 1993. "The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provide employees job protection in case of family or medical emergency. FMLA permits eligible employees to take up to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period." (Martocchio, 2003) When an employee must face to some certain special situations that need stop working temporarily due to the employee’s illness, employee’s family illness, the employer should give the right to the employees to look after their family member or themselves. To help employees balance work and family life, the government enacted the Family and Medical Leave Act. And this labor law must be applied in a variety of work places by affecting the employee’s benefits and employer’s policy. As a result, FMLA which have influenced the employees and employers a lot is essential for all the workers. Family And Medical Leave Act Prior to the FMLA, many employees can not handle the problems that need them to have a medical and family reason leave. When employees make a request for leave, the employer can deny them for any reason, and employees also could be fired for having family and medical leave. Or sometimes workers changed their work, even within the same firm, the workers may not be treated the same about the leave."Some employers had formal leave policies that were applied uniformly to their workforces while others had informal policies...
Words: 263 - Pages: 2
...your paper. Substandard draft papers submitted without a completed research worksheet cannot earn a grade. Enjoy researching, paraphrasing, and citing other authors using this research worksheet! Worksheet Components: • Problem Statement and Key Words FMLA is designed to help employees balance their work and family responsibilities by allowing them to take reasonable unpaid leave for certain family and medical reasons FMLA applies to all public agencies, all public and private elementary and secondary schools, and companies with 50 or more employees. Family medical leave Paid time off Employee benefits Library Research, Source #1 Capella library Internet Research, Source #1 www.google.com References and Finalizing Unit 3 main post. • www.dol.gov/dol/topic/benefits-leave/fmla.htm • Library Research, Sources #2 and #3 • http://site.ebrary.com.library.capella.edu/lib/capella/docDetail.action?docID=10103868&p00=employee+benefits • The employer's legal handbook (0-87337-499-1, 978-0-87337-499-6), 3rd National ed. / Steingold, Fred. • Nolo Press, 1999 • Internet Research, Sources #2 and #3 • www.fmla101.com/fmla-basics/fmla-eligibility.html • www.faegrebd.com/9420...
Words: 3268 - Pages: 14
...Act (FMLA) Traci Johnson ENG.215: Research and Writing Prof. D. Meadows What is FMLA? How does it work? These questions are very common when it comes to FMLA. Many people do not understand the fundamentals of this act, nor the effects that it can have on the employer as well as the employee, and fellow employees. Throughout this paper, you will learn what FMLA is, how it works, the issues, pros, and cons of this act, as well as solutions that could better this act, and help it to be more easily understood and beneficial to all parties involved. What is FMLA? FMLA is the abbreviation for the Family and Medical Leave Act; which is a bill that was passed in 1993. This bill states that federal law required companies and employers, who employ more than 50 employees, must provide their employees with 12 work weeks of job-protected and unpaid leave for qualified medical and family reasons. However, not all employees will qualify to receive leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. There are several qualifying factors that determine whether or not the employee is eligible for leave under this act, and whether or not a company is even required to honor leave under this act. It is required by law that all public, state, local, federal, and educational agencies, and all private sector employers who employ 50 or more people for at least 20 workweeks in a 12 months year, this includes joint employers and successors of covered employers to provide leave under FMLA to its...
Words: 2726 - Pages: 11
...The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) were enacted to help employees maintain work and family life. “The act provides eligible employees with two types of job-protected leave: regular leave and military family leave. Military family leave consists of qualifying exigency leave and military caregiver leave. FMLA leave is job-protected leave. After returning from FMLA leave, an employee generally has the right to return to the same, or an equivalent job with the same pay, benefits, and working conditions” (www.fmlaonline.com). In addition, FMLA is generally unpaid leave. However, the employee may substitute accrued paid leave (vacation or personal leave) for FMLA leave (Halbert and Ingulli 2010). Also, an employer may require an employee to substitute accrued paid leave for unpaid leave. “An employee’s ability to substitute paid leave is determined by the terms and conditions of the employer’s normal leave policies. While an employee is on FMLA leave, an employer must maintain the employee’s group health insurance coverage. Both the employer and employee continue to pay their regular shares of an employee’s health insurance premiums” (www.fmlaonline.com). Covered Employees According to the US Department of Labor “In order for an employee to qualify for FMLA leave, he/she must satisfy the following requirements: (1) the employee must work for the employer for at least 12 months, although the 12 months need not be consecutive; (2) a minimum of 1,250 hours in the 12...
Words: 1348 - Pages: 6
...Explain if it matters that a parent literally had nothing to do with a biological child in order for the child to take advantage of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to care for that parent. If a parent did not have anything to do with their biological child it should not stop the child from being able to file for FMLA to care for the parent. Family and Medical Leave Act are there to help children, spouses, and or parents take care of their immediate family members. It should be up to the child to determine if they want to use FMLA to care for a parent or anyone else that can be claimed under the FMLA act even though they might not have a great relationship. As Tony stated in the video, “He is still my father”, which still gives him the right to do the right thing or he may feel obligated to still take care of his father even though his father did not help with raising him when he was younger. The decision to take care of a parent who may not have been there to help support the child should not be influence by the employer but the decision should solely be determined by the child. The decision for some may be well thought out and they may feel it is the best thing in their interest to take care of the family or may choose not to do anything. Some children may feel since their parent was not there for them then they will not help their parent out no matter what the situation is. The children may still have a grudge against their parent and feel strongly about how they...
Words: 879 - Pages: 4
