Essay On Leave Of Absence

Throughout a person’s life, there will come a period of time, when an employee will need to take a leave of absence. The Family and Medical Leave Act has helped many people balance their daily living situations with their work life. Many years ago people were unable to keep a career due to everyday life changes. It has taken a very long time to put this Act into place but it has help our countries people in so many ways. The Family and Medical Leave Act is a law providing help for hard working Americans to retain their careers throughout their challenging journey.
The Family and Medical Leave Act was designed to provide working Americans with an alternative, in case of a life altering experience such as: child birth, adoption, fostering of

a child, serious health conditions of the employee, seriously injured or ill immediate family member, or an immediate family member who is called to active duty. Employers who have fifty or more employees on their pay roll and the employee lives within a seventy-five mile radius of employment may qualify for FMLA.
The Family and Medical Leave Act was first established in 1984 by the Women’s Legal Defense Fund. The Family and Medical Leave Act was introduced to congress for nine years and vetoed twice by President George H.W. Bush. The law did not pass until the first year President Bill Clinton in office; making it his first accomplishment. He signed the Act and made it effective on August 5, 1993. Throughout those nine years the Women’s Legal Defense Fund fought well –funded opponents courageously until they provided working Americans with the legal rights they deserve.
The Family and Medical Leave Act was amended in 2008 and then again in 2010 to help employees their immediate family members such as: parent, spouse or child serving in the Armed Forces, National Guard, Reserves and airline flight crew for specific reasons related to the military service. Having a military career can be very hard to the service member and their families. Many military families find themselves caring for an injured or ill family member, arranging childcare while the service member is deployed, or arranging a beautiful welcoming home ceremony for when their family member returns.
After the Family and Medical Leave Act was amended in 2010 it allowed a person to take up to twenty- six work weeks to care for a service person with a serious injury or illness. Employees may also take certain time frames of FMLA by compressing their work schedules into shorter hours. If the employee has a major medical schedule to obtain they must allow access to their employer. The employee must stay reasonable of working schedule because the employer still has obligations as a company to have their labor completed. The Family and Medical care Act has helped so many families over the past twenty years.
The employer must first post a notice that has to be approved by the Security of Labor explaining the employees’ rights and responsibilities under the Family and Medical Leave Act in clear view for employees to see. If the employer does not post a notice to be approved they will suffer a $110 dollar fine for each time they are caught violating this law. Employers must also provide a handbook to new employee reviewing options they have for future Family and Medical Leave. This will allow new and former employees to understand their rights throughout their place of employment.
However, Family and Medical Leave has limitations on when and why the employee needs a twelve week leave. The Department of Labor has put in guidelines for employers to take when allowing a person to take FMLA. The employee must have worked for their company of fifty more employees for twelve consecutive months or has worked for 1250 hours during a twelve month period. This will assure that employers are not taken advantage of by new employees. The employee must also discuss and sign documents with their employer within thirty days before taking their temporary unpaid leave of absence.
If an employee is unable to give a thirty day notice the employee will still be able to file emergency FMLA.

They will need to provide certification for one or multiple health care providers at the employer’s expense for more clarification of why the employee needs the leave of absence. “An employer may use a health care provider, a human resource professional, a leave administrator, or a management official – but not the employee’s direct supervisor – to authenticate or clarify a medical certification of a serious health condition” (SHRM) If the employer feels that the employee is not able to return to work due to major health conditions they may also require a letter from their health care professional approving their return.
After the employer has received the employees thirty day notice the employer may then see if the request qualifies for FMLA. The request may only be qualified for specific reasons such as child birth, adoption, fostering of a child, serious health conditions of the employee, seriously injured or ill immediate family member, or an immediate family member who is called to active duty. If both expecting parents work in the same workplace they equally will divide their leave of absence between the two of

them.
If their request is approved the employer must discuss how long the employee will be gone. The employee may also pair together paid time off such as vacation time and sick leave to receive paid days they have earned throughout the year. If both parents work for the same company they may also pair together their paid time off to make sure some of their days away for work have been accounted for. That way both parents are able to be with each other during this changing life experience.
Finally, the employer must then start looking for a person to cover the unfilled possession temporarily or permanently until the employee returns for their job title. It is up to the employer to decide if they have enough funds to keep another employee permanently while the other person is on FMLA. This can become very difficult for an employer to hire a new employee or divide the work of the persons on leave between other employees in the workplace. Sometimes FMLA can cause work overload for some cases but has also been found to not have a huge effect on the workplace. The employer must also abide by the laws when the employee returns for their position after the twelve week or more if a caring for a service person.
. While the employee and their family takes the time to get to know a new child or they care for their loved one they will have no worries about their healthcare coverage. Under the Family and Medical Leave Act employers must still provide employees with the same health coverage they were in titled to while in the workplace. That means that employers must still contribute to their employee premiums while on leave. This helps will the medical bills the employee will endure while taking a leave of absence. When the employee returns to work the premiums for their benefits will be taken from current pay.
It is very difficult to transition from a twelve week leave but an employer is obligated to give their employee their position or equivalent position after they return. The employee is also entitled to the same responsibility, work performance, compensation, working conditions and benefits after they have returned to their place of employment. If an employee feels that they are not compensated in with the same standard as before they left their job they are entitled to a suit in the court of law for lost wages and other damages caused by discrimination. This has assisted families with job security and peace of mind while taking their leave of absence.
Over the years human resource departments have had different policies regarding the Family and Medical Leave Act. The Act has been amended twice and may possibly be amended again within the next few years regarding different states. Each state may expand their FMLA considerations to fit their employee’s needs. In the state of Hawaii they extended their FMLA coverage to in laws, grandparents, and in-law grandparents. Each state must get together to incorporate a single policy with the federal FMLA requirements.
In conclusion, the Family and Medical Leave Act has helped our country in so many ways over the past twenty years. We as a nation have fought to provide leave for new parents seriously ill and injured employees, seriously ill or injured immediate family members of an employee, or the exceptions of military service members. This has given is a peace of mind in the workplace when we feel the time comes to pay more attention to our personal lives and the circumstances that come with everyday life experiences.