The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has announced that it is taking the first step towards conducting surveys regarding the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Given changes in current economic conditions, the surveys are designed to update and expand the DOL’s knowledge about FMLA leave-taking and close current data gaps remaining from previously conducted surveys. Two surveys will be conducted to collect information about the need for and the experience with family and medical leave from employees’ and employers’ perspectives. This is intended to provide the DOL with information on current workplace policies and practices related to family and medical leave, and enable it to shape future regulatory options, among other things.
The FMLA gives employees the right to take up to 12 weeks of job-protected unpaid leave a year because of certain family situations, such as the birth or adoption of a child, to take care of a sick child, or to care for their own medical problems.
The Notice concerning this stage of the formalities was published in the Federal Register on April 1, 2011. The DOL has published several notices since December, 2009 regarding the review of new and existing FMLA amendments and regulations. DOL Secretary Hilda Solis first announced the Department’s intention to conduct an FMLA survey back in July, 2010. Draft surveys, as well as prior survey reports, can be accessed on the DOL’s FMLA Survey Web page. Stay tuned.