Most of us have used the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for childbearing or adopting. Many have used it to care for other family members. And some true sandwich generation mamas for both. Yikes. Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and (!!) Ted Stevens (R-AK) have introduced legislation in D.C. to improve the existing FMLA from 12 weeks of unpaid leave to eight weeks of paid leave. That is a really big deal. National paid leave. Get behind it, mamas. With your support, this could actually happen - and maybe even before you need it next!
How it Would Work: In short, the Family Leave Insurance Act of 2007 would be paid for through an insurance fund financed by employees and employers equally (different than the proposed bill in Oregon which was to be 100% employee funded). For wonky mamas, there's a simple but complete overview of proposed benefits in the continuation of this post, below.
What You Can Do Now: Let our Senators know that you'd like to see this bill move - now. Here's how:
- E-Mail: You can easily find your U.S. Senator and send them an e-mail - all you gotta say is "I am a voting parent in Oregon and urge you to support the Family Leave Insurance Act of 2007. As I'm sure you have realized, the time is now to support working families. Today's parents are ready and will vote accordingly. Thank you."
- Send a Letter: Download the letter attached to this post, sign it, and send it on in (it is for Sen. Smith, so you can simply change the name and address for Sen. Wyden , it's included on the 2nd page). Download fmla_10_07_activistas.docx
- Call 'Em: Better yet, ring them up in DC or Oregon - next to walkin' in their door, a personal phone call is the most effective means of conveying your message. Smith: (503) 326-3386, Wyden: (503) 326-7525. You can say exactly the same thing as the e-mail message, above. Easy, easy. You can even call at midnight and leave a message if you're just a little bit nervous!
Where do the Pres. Candidates Stand?? So true, we can't ignore the fact that there's a Presidential election coming up! You can easily see where the '08 Presidential Candidates stand on this issue. And be sure to check out our recent post on which candidate has us mamastituenets on the very front burner. Who are you gonna support?
Happily for us balance-obsessed mamas, reforming the FMLA - and this whole work-family imbalance issue - looks to be a hot one about now.
AndThe Family Leave Insurance Act would provide 8 weeks of paid benefits to people who take time off from work for reasons allowed under the Family and Medical Leave Act. The Act creates a new “Family Leave Insurance Fund” to finance benefit payments, allowing stakeholders to pool risk and lower costs, and funded through small, shared employee/employer premiums. To reduce administrative burdens for employers and employees, employers will pay leave benefits to employees through their regular payroll, with prompt reimbursement from the Family Leave Insurance Fund.
Benefits
- 8 weeks of paid leave over a 12-month period for workers who need time off for reasons that parallel the Family and Medical Leave Act, which include:
- birth of a child;
- placement of adopted or foster child;
- care for a child, parent or spouse, who have a serious medical condition; or
- because the employee has a serious medical condition that makes it impossible to perform his or her job functions.
- Benefits will be tiered based on wages:
- 100% of weekly earnings for employees earning up to $20,000
- 75% of weekly earnings for employees earning $20,001 - $30,000
- 55% of weekly earnings for employees earning $30,001 - $60,000
- 40% of weekly earnings for employees earning $60,001 - $97,000
- (Note: The minimum benefit in each income tier will be set so as not to be lower than maximum benefit in next lower tier)
- (Wage levels will be indexed for inflation using the Social Security wage index)
- Employees may use other leave to supplement Paid Leave benefits.
- Benefit payments begin after one week waiting period which will not be counted against the 8 week limit.
- Health insurance continues for employees who have health insurance.
- Job protection is available for all employees eligible for job protection under the FMLA.
Eligible Employees
- Employees must pay insurance premiums for 12 months and have worked for the same employer for 12 months to receive benefits – consistent with FMLA requirements.
- Participation is mandatory for all businesses with more than 50 employees, but companies with materially equivalent or better benefits can choose to self-insure rather than participate in the federal program.
- Businesses with fewer than 50 employees may choose to opt in, with a 50% discount on premium payments. (see financing)
- Self-employed workers can choose to opt in, paying both employer and employee shares of the premium at the 50% discounted rate for small businesses.
Financing
- Costs will be shared by employees, employers, and the federal government. Both employees and employers must pay a small premium for the insurance, equivalent to 0.2 percent of each employee’s earnings. Employers with fewer than 50 employees may opt in to the Fund at a 50% discount, with premiums equivalent to 0.1 percent of earnings and the federal government paying administrative costs that are not covered by the Fund. This financing structure should allow the Insurance Program to pay for itself with little cost to the federal government and taxpayers.
Administration
- The U.S. Department of Labor will administer the program.
Coordination with other paid leave programs
- Allows for development of a framework to allow States with existing Temporary Disability Insurance or paid leave programs to opt out of the Family Leave Insurance Fund, if they provide an equal or greater benefits plan.
- Companies with materially equivalent or better benefits can choose to self-insure rather than participate, or may choose to provide additional employee benefits in conjunction with Family Leave Insurance Fund benefits.
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