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New Rules Should Help Employees and Their Employers in Dealing with Provisions of the 'Family and Medical Leave Act'
Fully produced report in MP3 format:
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(91 seconds)
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(OPEN):
THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR HAS JUST ISSUED NEW RULES TO
HELP EMPLOYEES, AND THEIR EMPLOYERS, NAVIGATE THE PROVISIONS OF THE
"FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT"--LEGISLATION THAT WAS SIGNED INTO LAW
14 YEARS AGO, TO GIVE WORKERS TIME OFF FOR SERIOUS FAMILY- AND
MEDICAL-RELATED ISSUES. LISA HORN, WITH THE SOCIETY
FOR HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, DISCUSSES THE NEW RULES...
(HORN):
"THIS RECENT ACTION BY THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR WILL IMPROVE AN
IMPORTANT LAW THAT HAS HELPED MILLIONS OF WORKERS, AND THEIR
FAMILIES. THESE NEW RULES WILL ENSURE THAT AMERICAN WORKERS HAVE
THE FLEXIBILITY THEY NEED TO TAKE TIME OFF TO BOND WITH A NEW BABY, OR
TO PROVIDE CARE FOR A FAMILY MEMBER WHO IS SERIOUSLY ILL, OR TO GET
TREATMENT THEMSELVES FOR SERIOUS ILLNESSES--AND BE ASSURED THEIR JOBS
WILL BE WAITING FOR THEM, WHEN THEY RECOVER. THE OLD RULES
RESULTED IN MANY UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES: FOR ONE, THEY ALLOWED
SOME EMPLOYEES TO TAKE SPORADIC LEAVE, WITHOUT ANY NOTIFICATION.
THIS PROBLEM LEFT SCHOOLS SCRAMBLING TO FIND BUS DRIVERS TO PICK UP KIDS
WAITING ON STREET-CORNERS; IT FORCED 9-1-1 WORKERS TO FILL IN, ON SHORT
NOTICE, FOR COLLEAGUES WHO WERE ABSENT WITHOUT TELLING ANYONE IN
ADVANCE. THIS IS NOT WHAT CONGRESS INTENDED, WHEN IT PASSED THE
'FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT'--AND THAT'S WHY THE LABOR DEPARTMENT HAD
TO TAKE THIS ACTION. WHILE NOT PERFECT, WE DO BELIEVE THESE NEW
RULES WILL CLARIFY AND STRENGTHEN THE F-M-L-A--AND ENSURE THAT IMPORTANT
F-M-L-A PROTECTIONS ARE AVAILABLE TO AMERICAN WORKERS, FOR DECADES TO
COME."
(CLOSE):
FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT
"S-H-R-M"-DOT-ORG.
