Department of Labor Ponders FMLA Reform

(This article first appeared in the January/February 2007 issue of The American Postal Worker magazine.)

A new battle may be brewing over the Family and Medical Leave Act, with employers using a recent Labor Department information-request to try to weaken the 1993 law.

After a notice seeking public comment appeared in the December 2006 Federal Register, numerous employers seized the opportunity to try to gain more control and more restrictions on a worker’s right to take intermediate leave. The typical claim is that the current process is burdensome because employees can request leave in the smallest increments allowed by their payroll system.

Employers want the right to demand more frequent reviews of FMLA conditions and they strongly object to situations where a healthcare provider provides coverage for extended periods of time. Some employers even question why they need an employee’s permission to contact a doctor.

Employees and their representatives, meanwhile, continue to argue that employers are still not notifying employees of their FMLA rights, and generally do a poor job of notifying their workers when leave determinations are made, with employers repeatedly deny leave on the basis that “inadequate” information was submitted.

Public comment is sought specifically on at least a dozen areas of the FMLA, and a broader discussion has not been discouraged. Defenders of workers’ rights oppose any change to the law’s current criteria and would fight against new administrative rules resulting from employer feedback.

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