Family Life and the Workplace

Paper Summary:

In 1993, Congress passed the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). This paper details the reasons for the implementation of this particular act, which arose when lawmakers observed how childbirth affected the professional woman, often derailing her career completely, or causing her to take so many unpaid years off. The FMLA states that mothers and fathers of natural children, as well as those of adopted or foster children, could take up to 12 weeks off to care for their children without risk of losing their current employment status. The privilege was also extended to those caring for aged parents. The writer of this paper examines how the FMLA may have devastating consequences in smaller businesses in which temporary employees must be brought in and trained to take over for the employee on leave. This brief yet concise paper also discusses the issue of maternity leave in Europe and compares it to the present situation in the U.S.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
Where the Imbalance Began
How it Affects the Workplace
Coercion to 'Be Nice' to Parents and Elder-care Providers at One's Own Expense
Conclusion
Works Cited

From the Paper:

"Arguably, the only bright spot in the FMLA as currently practiced is this: it is a lot more unfair in Europe. There, maternity leave is generally with pay, not just paid health insurance. In addition, paternity leave is offered. On the face of it, it appears even more unfair to childless, parentless employees than the FMLA. However, "The European model is set among a backdrop of state-subsidized support for families with children, including national healthcare, cash benefits for families based on the number of children in the family, and guaranteed minimum child support payments for single parents," so that it is at least applied equally across the board instead of singling out parents in large companies to receive this government/corporate largesse while the non-parents shoulder the burden. In addition, Europe has such liberal vacation time that, even if the non-parents perceived the leave act as unfair, they would reasonably avoid American-style resentment simply because it's hard to be resentful when one is being treated well according to one's own needs and preferences."

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