On Feb. 11, 2008 the Bush administration proposed new regulations that would weaken employees’ medical privacy protections and make it more difficult for workers to use leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

Public Comment Period

Before the proposed regulations can take effect, the Labor Department must review and take into account comments submitted by citizens and organizations that would be affected by the new rules.

We want to hear it, too! Please send the union a copy of the comments you submitted to the Federal Register about the proposed new FMLA regulations. E-mail them to commentsfedreg@apwu.org, or mail them to FMLA Comments, Att: Myke Reid, 1300 L St., NW, Washington, DC 20005.

The APWU filed its objections [PDF] on April 11, the last day of the 60-day period during which comments submitted by concerned citizens and organizations were accepted.

The union strongly encouraged all members to add their individual voices in opposition to the proposed rules by submitting comments to the Federal Register. By the deadline for submissions, more than 1,600 comments had been posted on www.regulations.gov; of those, approximately 900 were from postal workers.

The Labor Department is expected to publish its final regulations by the end of the year.

Click here to read more about the proposed FMLA regulatory changes and the union's efforts to stop them.

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