Nearly two-thirds of all employees have heard of the Family Medical Leave Act. And 59 percent of employees report they are covered and eligible to take leave under the FMLA, according to a new report.
The Institute for Women’s Policy Research, Washington, D.C., discloses this finding in May 2013 briefing paper, “Maternity, Paternity and Adoption Leave in the United States.” The report details use of the 1993 act, which entitles eligible employees, both men and women, up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave around the time of the birth or adoption of a child, so long as they work in firms with at least 50 employees and meet minimum job tenure and working hour requirements.
Regardless of eligibility, 13 percent of employees surveyed by IWPR report they took leave for an FMLA-qualifying reason, such as one’s own serious illness or that of a spouse, parent or child, to care for or bond with a new child, or military deployment of or service related injury to a parent or child in the past year.