My daughter Jenny sent me a link to a story she really wanted me to read. It has sat untouched in my email for days. FMLA, or Family Medical Leave Act, just wasn't sparking my interest, but because it sparked hers, I finally opened it today. I am glad I did.
It's well written with historic references. My favorite kind of article.
It took me back to the days when getting pregnant meant no more job. I remember those days. Male boss to pregnant woman: Have a nice life. See yah.
That attitude remains, but FMLA at least protects women and their partners for 12 unpaid weeks of leave. Well, that is if one is lucky enough to be among the 59 percent of workers eligible for FMLA because their workplace has 50 plus employees. The other 41 percent are outta luck. Wait, what year is this?
The author writes about the legislative origin of FMLA. The process described was akin to watching sausage being made: ugly. She rightfully credits Democratic Congresswoman Pat Schroeder of Colorado for getting the whole thing started. I liked that part as it's been eons since I had the privilege of reading about one of my heroes.
Schroeder speaks about her disappointment with FMLA's lack of progress. She initially proposed six months with pay but accepted the 12 weeks unpaid leave as a place to begin, believing it would expand into something more family friendly. Twenty years later, FMLA is frozen where it began. Nothing has changed.
It's frustrating and personal. Both my daughters - Andrea and Jenny - are teachers who have gone without a paycheck during maternity leaves - two for both. Jenny bought some disability insurance that helped cover some, but not all, of her leave. Currently on leave, she is paying the district out of pocket for health insurance because there's no paycheck from which the giant and unfeeling computer can suck out money automatically. Andrea has never taken more than a six-week leave. But, get this, after she ran out of sick days but was still at home recovering from C-sections, she was CHARGED 300 bucks a day (deducted from her pay!). All the while her full-time substitute teacher was paid just $90 a day. It would seem, and I am not as brilliant as my daughters at math, but there's $210 a day for a couple of weeks unaccounted for here.
Stepping back down from my soap box, I accept that there are differing perspectives. I get we have, as a nation, placed undue burdens on employers to provide social nets such as health insurance and pensions. But it's not like those things aren't already calculated into the bottom line. And what about all the tax cuts/incentives that more than make up for worker support? Corporate welfare? Don't get me started about public institutions and wasted money.
Maybe the hang up is in a rickety and aging business model mindset that says any worker leave is bad leave and must be resisted. Certainly not supported or encouraged. Ever. To those who hold a negative opinion about paid leave, I say consider thinking about it as you would a sports team. Take the Dallas Cowboys for example. Tony Romo sat out most of last season. Was his leave paid? I'm pretty sure it was. No worries because Jerry Jones made sure the team had backups. This may be a bad example. Point is, did Jerry lose money? Hell to the no. Did he value Tony even during the time he wasn't working? He never stopped seeing Tony's value to the team, and rightfully so.
A deep bench or access to talent has always been an option for employers. Always. A company that has dozens of workers is smart enough to figure out how to fill a job gap. There is no need to make it harder on families because they want, well, to have a family.
I, as always, have hope. In fact we may be on the verge of realizing a paradigm shift in regards to worker leave. The FMLA article also pointed out that a whopping 12 percent of workers actually now get paid during their entire 12 weeks of leave. Like the Cowboys, these workers are seen as valued even during their leave, which translates into increased loyalty and productivity. Again, this may not be the right example.
You get the idea. While the 12 percent number may not exactly be crushing barriers, at least it's a starting point. Now, where have we heard that before?
FMLA article:
http://mashable.com/2015/01/25/maternity-leave-policy-united-states/#VXgW8VrnOkqR
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