Legislation Seeks Expansion of Family And Medical Leave Act

ByMichael A. Verespej Expansion of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is the aim of legislation that has been introduced in the U.S. Senate. The Right Start Act introduced last month would require companies with 25 or more employees (the current threshold is 50) to provide benefits under the 8-year-old FMLA. In addition, employees would be able to take an additional 24 hours of leave per year to participate in their children's school activities or literacy training. They could also take FMLA leave to deal with the effects of domestic violence. Under the proposed legislation, $400 million would be set aside to fund projects in states to demonstrate the impact of paid leave versus the unpaid leave that FMLA now provides.