Is Having Family or Medical Leave from Work Fair?
Georgia does not have a state law that specifically requires employers to offer pregnancy leave. However, most Georgia employers with 50 or more employees may have leave obligations under the federal family and medical leave act (FMLA). I will be mostly referring to this Act and other laws and Acts within the state of Georgia.
My problem with the controversy surrounding “maternity leave”, The Federal Family and Medical Leave Act, The Federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act, and so forth, is that to me there doesn’t seem to be one mass logical solution or answer.
On the business side of things it can really cause a business to suffer specifically financially and in company productivity if
…show more content…
I feel for a lot of people the first instinct is to say, “Well the employer needs to make the sacrifice for the employee not the other way around.” Since many stories put the employee as the hard working underdog of any hierarchy scenario. I think it’s also safe to assume that most people have been an employee before and that a majority of people are employees as opposed to employers. However assuming that this is what should be done is still not fair and morally just. Not every employer is going to have a better life than their employees and it isn’t always going to be the employee that would suffer more than the employer would if he got his way. An employer going out of his way or taking risks for his employees like this would be a very kind and noble thing to do but it doesn’t mean it is the right thing to do. You could argue that an employer who doesn’t do this for his employees is heartless but you could say the same for the employee as if to say he was taking advantage of the employer and his
Arizona employers who do not currently offer paid sick time will be required to start accruing as of July 1, 2017. There has been an enormous amount of debate over whether there is a need to offer sick time, especially to employees who have paid time off which can be used for anything, including sick days. On the other hand, there is a significant need for employees who are not offered any paid sick time or paid time off. You will find a mix of employees and employers on either side and sometimes on both sides of this debate. Few will change their opinion when they think of themselves as the employee versus the employer and vice versa. Employers and employees have raised concerns alike regarding whether providing days specifically denoted as sick will encourage more unplanned days off, will negatively impact those that do not get sick, and whether it is fair to require sick time versus paid time off in which we can all agree everyone should have paid sick time when the
This paper will describe the problem that Kelly experienced with her new job with the sick leave policy. We will discuss if Kelly should call CLAIR, or discuss this further with Mr. Higashi? What is this main dispute about for Kelly? For Mr. Higashi? In these types of conflicts is a compromise possible? What are the tangible factors in this situation? What are the intangible factors in the negotiation Is saving face more important to Kelly or Mr. Higashi? Why? Which are more important, the tangible or intangible factors? Is this true for both Kelly and Mr. Higashi?
The Family Medical Leave Act was implemented in 1993. This act was designed to give employees an ease of mind if there came a time where they needed an extended amount of time off from work to care for family if necessary. To take advantage of FMLA, one will have to had to be employed with the same company for at least 1 year or 1250 hour before requesting the time off. The company also must have 50 or more employees. (DOL, n.d.). There are situations that are allowable.
Many cases are being brought to the Supreme Court because many companies and employers are not cooperating with the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. Just recently a young women working with UPS was forced into unpaid time off because she was pregnant and was told by her doctor she could not lift more than 20 pounds. She felt that she had been unfairly treated because UPS made accommodations for other workers with disabilities but didn’t offer to make accommodations for her. I think that even though the Pregnancy Discrimination Act is there, many companies and employers are not following it. It is not fair for women who become pregnant to be treated any differently than another worker who has a temporary disability. I think that congress should strengthen this act so that women are not forced to choose between their job and the health of their pregnancy and baby. I think that companies and employers who are not following the rules of this act should be punished in some way. One way could be that if they are not obeying this act, they could be fined. It would make them more likely to follow through and follow the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. With more and more women in the work force, it is obvious at some point a majority of these women will be
The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) provides certain employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave and job protection for childbirth, adoption or foster care; to care for a seriously ill child, spouse, or parent; or for an employee’s own serious illness (Cañas & Sondak, 2011). It also requires that their group health benefits remain intact during the unpaid leave of absence. The employee must have worked for the employer for at least a year and must have earned 1,250 hours of service during the previous 12 months ((Cañas & Sondak, 2011, pg. 70).
Those who have a family feel they can be penalized even further. In a survey conducted as part of a Wall Street Journal study, 36% of respondents with children at home feared missing out on advancement while on maternity leave.
Women have the wonderful ability to bring a new life into this world and are granted maternity leave, a certain amount of time after birth to be away from the labor force. However, maternity leave was not always available to women because of the low levels of employed and educated females. In 1978 changing gender norms and increased female labor involvement influenced the passing of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act prohibiting employment discrimination of women due to pregnancy (Smith, Downs, and O’Connell 3). After this legislation, a higher percentage of women in the United States were not only educated but also employed. In 1987, a critical Supreme Court case (California Federal Savings and Loan Association v. Guerra) in California defined
Within the past few decades, there has been a rise in the number of dual-income families. In todays world, women are expected not only to raise their children, but also earn money for their family in the workforce. Most countries ensure that pregnant women are given paid maternity leave. Only two countries do not carry this policy, Papua New Guinea and the United States (Wares). While the United States at present has the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, merely 60 percent of workers can receive the benefits that this law grants. The Family and Medical Leave Act offers three months of unpaid leave to workers that have amassed 12 months of tenure at a firm of 50 or more employees (Wage and Hour Division). Presently, approximately 40 percent
The FMLA was passed to help families in the time of a crisis so that the individuals would not have to choose between work and personal responsibilities. The eligible employees are permitted to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons. The leave can last up to twelve workweeks in any twelve-month period. Reasons for leave include: pregnancy, prenatal complications, adoption/ fostering of a child, hospitalization, care of an immediate family member, or a health condition that makes the employee unable to do his or her job (Solis). This law applies to any employer “engaging in commerce” ...
Figure 1, shows the top countries in the world for maternity leave, with all offering over 50 weeks, and Serbia and Denmark at 100% of salary. In other countries both the amount of time and percentage of salary differs, but as Amanda Peterson Beadle points out in her article for the ThinkProgress website, ‘Out of 178 nations, the U.S. is one of three that does not offer paid maternity leave benefits, let alone paid leave for fathers’. (6)
America is the one and only developed country that does not offer any paid maternity leave. Maternity leave is a period of absence from work granted to a mother before and after the birth of her child. In America this means twelve weeks of unpaid absence that guarantees her job when she returns. We are so far behind everyone that out of all of the countries around the world seven out of 196 including America do not have mandatory paid maternity leave. (Colorado public radio news) That is a sad figure, to think that we place having a family so high but don’t give the mothers the protection and security they deserve.
As we all know, majority of females are mothers and many are single mothers to beat that. Therefore, the thought of them not having paid maternity leave is quite disturbing to me. Why is the United States the only country in the world that doesn’t make paid maternity leave mandatory in the workplace? How are these females supposed to support their child, along with them if there not getting paid for the time they must take off? In many cases, that female may not have anyone to care for that child, so that she can go back to work. Things such as these may not be put into consideration by employers, but giving birth is a remarkable experience for females. Most importantly, maternity leaves gives a mother time to bond with her newly born child and it gives her time to recover or heal from the overwhelming birthing process. Therefore, the least companies can do is give paid maternity leave to females, while they’re missing work
Sick leave is leave that employees can take when they can’t attend work because they are sick or injured. In the case study “Sick leave costing employers” it highlights the issues of employees calling in sick to work and just how much damage is done both productively and financially to a business (Schermerhorn, et al.). The rationale for investigating this issue is due to the increasing statistics of Australian employees causing large amounts of financial damage to their employers. The realisation is that a high percentage of “sickies” are not related to employees being sick but simply not being bothered to go to work.
the company can attempt to reduce the impact with a better defined strategy. Many firm-specific issues can
Pregnancy and maternity leave is another form of discrimination seen in workplaces. Women are less likely to be hired due to maternity leave where they have to leave for a long period of time due to child birth (Larson). Recently, New York Times has been sued for gender discrimination by a former ad executive, Arielle Davis. Davis was recently laid off while she was on maternity leave for four months. She was “entitled to six months” but her managers “pressured her to take less than four moths” (Roy). Her leave did not affect her department of work in anyway yet she was laid off right before she was about to go back to work. There are several laws such as the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act that are supposed to protect women from being fired because they are taking time off to give birth. Even with these laws, women are still being laid off because of maternity leave just as Davis was. It is absolutely wrong to treat a woman differently or discriminate her because she is pregnant. Every woman deserves the right to have a job and start a family at the same