On February 11, 2008 the U.S. Department of Labor published a proposal to update its regulations under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The business community was hopeful that these long-anticipated changes would bring clarity and certainty to parts of the law that made compliance and its administration complex and burdensome.
Critics of the proposed rule changes are crying foul, but the proposed changes – while tweaking areas that will help businesses somewhat (for example, in the area of notification and FMLA medical certification) – are far from the depth of changes desired by the business community. In particular, the most contentious parts of FMLA – the “intermittent leave” issue, as well as a more precise definition of a “serious medical condition” – remain untouched. Several proposed changes are beneficial to employees as well.
The bottom line is that the proposed changes are far from being dramatic. Yes, they will clarify certain aspects of the FMLA, but for those who claim that the FMLA is being “rolled back” – or, as presidential candidate and Senator Hillary Clinton said in a press release: “…the Bush Administration has acted once again to tilt the balance of power towards corporations instead of hardworking Americans” – such assertions are OVERBLOWN to say the least.
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