HR Survey Shows Need to Fix Medical Leave Law

ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly two-thirds of HR professionals have experienced problems in determining when to grant "chronic leave" under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), leading to employee morale issues and loss of productivity, according to a survey released today by The National Coalition to Protect Family Leave. The survey, conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), also found that more than half (51%) of human resource (HR) professionals have faced "significant challenges" in implementing the medical leave provisions of the FMLA.

"The National Coalition to Protect Family Leave is committed to fair and equitable application of medical leave guaranteed under the FMLA," said Susan R. Meisinger, SPHR, President and CEO of SHRM and a leader of the Coalition. "Our survey demonstrates that clearer rules are needed to eliminate the persistent confusion among employees and employers since the FMLA became law 14 years ago."

As currently interpreted by the U.S. Labor Department, the FMLA has become one of the largest causes of rising business costs associated with uncontrolled employee absences.

"The FMLA is an important labor law designed to benefit all employees," said Meisinger. "It deserves to be administered fairly, as Congress intended. We hope that by raising our collective voices about the need for changes in the FMLA rules, we can lead the charge for improvements that will mean fair and balanced application of these important employee leave benefits."

The survey findings support the goals of The National Coalition to Protect Family Leave, a broad-based, non-partisan group dedicated to protecting the integrity of the FMLA. The group, consisting of influential employer organizations and associations, supports strengthening FMLA to protect employees and clarifying provisions of the law to ensure the integrity of medical leave benefits.

Signed into law by President Clinton on February 5, 1993, FMLA allows eligible workers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for birth, adoption and other serious health conditions, or to care for a seriously ill family member. In January, the Coalition submitted comments to the Department of Labor on how to improve the Act's administration.

The Coalition plan recommends specific improvements to FMLA rules including restoring the meaning of "serious health condition" to the original congressional intent, modifying "intermittent leave" to allow half-day increment tracking and streamlined record keeping.

The Coalition today also unveiled its new Web site, http://www.protectfamilyleave.org/, an online headquarters for this campaign. The site, designed to educate individuals, policymakers and the media about the FMLA, provides insight about employee rights under the Act, the challenges of implementing the law fairly, and recommended improvements. In addition, the site highlights research that shows the need to fix FMLA, lawsuits tied to FMLA, and congressional hearings on the topic.

SUMMARY OF SURVEY RESULTS

SHRM's survey of over 600 human resource professionals across the country quantifies difficulties surrounding FMLA implementation. Among the key findings:

  -- Four out of ten HR professionals stated that they have had to grant
     FMLA requests that they believed were not legitimate due to the
     Department of Labor's regulations or interpretations.
  -- More than half (57 percent) of respondents found it somewhat difficult
     or very difficult to determine if a health condition is a "serious
     health condition" under FMLA.
  -- Eighty percent of respondents indicated they had difficulties
     tracking/administering intermittent FMLA leave.
  -- Almost half (47 percent) of HR professionals experienced challenges in
     administering/granting leave under the FMLA for employees with serious
     health conditions as a result of episodic conditions.

The National Coalition to Protect Family Leave is a broad-based, non- partisan group of organizations, companies and associations dedicated to protecting the integrity of the Family and Medical Leave Act.