Thinkingmama

An article in the Washington Post explores changes proposed for the Family and Medical Leave Act, which celebrates its 15th anniversary this year. The law protects the jobs of workers who take unpaid time off to care for a baby or sick relative.

The changes being weighed by the Labor Department seem stringent and cumbersome, but apparently stem from abuses of the law, including an example mentioned in the article of an Italian vacation made possible by a doctor’s note about the employee’s supposedly ill mother.

In this day of stagnant incomes, worries about layoffs and companies pinching pennies, it’s a shame the changes proposed would mean even fewer rights for American workers. I hope Congress is able to stall or eliminate some of the more cumbersome parts of the proposed changes and not let a few bad apples ruin the rights of those who aren’t taking advantage of the law.