Use and Abuse of the Family and Medical Leave Act: What Workers and Employers Say

Publication Date: August 2007

Publisher: Heritage Foundation (Washington, D.C.)

Author(s): James Sherk

Research Area: Labor

Keywords: Labor; abuse; sherk

Type: Report

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

Congress formulated the Family and Medical Leave Act to give job security to new mothers and workers who needed to care for sick relatives. What Congress apparently did not foresee was that FMLA would open the door to abuse by unscrupulous workers and be detrimental to industries including healthcare and public services. These and similar consequences of the act become clear after a review of the public comments submitted to the Department of Labor.