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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted on: Tuesday, August 5, 2003

Island Voices
Paid family leave is essential

Judith L. Lichtman is president of the Washington, D.C.-based National Partnership for Women & Families. Rep. Roy Takumi is chairman of the state House Education Committee.

A man takes four weeks away from work to care for his ailing spouse and is not fired or replaced during his absence. A woman takes eight weeks of leave to help her dying father and retains her seniority and job security when she returns to work. New parents take time away from their jobs to bond with their new baby with no fear of being fired.

More than a decade ago, these scenarios would have been highly improbable — wishful thinking at best for most workers. But today they are reality for millions of Americans.

That is because 10 years ago today, on Aug. 5, 1993, the Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA) took effect. For the first time, Americans have been able to take time off from work to care for their loved ones or to recover from their own serious illnesses without putting their jobs at risk.

Today is a day to celebrate that achievement. The FMLA is one of the most significant advances for women and families in our nation's history. It gives covered workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for newborns, newly adopted children and seriously ill family members, or to recover from their own serious health problems.

The FMLA has had an enormous impact on working families across the nation. Over the past decade, it has allowed more than 40 million Americans to better manage the demands of work and family. It has made our families stronger, our communities healthier and our workplaces more family-friendly.

The FMLA was a critical first step, but it alone is not enough. Our nation's workplace policies remain badly out of sync with the needs of working families. Workers' No. 1 career concern is finding time for family, according to a survey by Office Team. This is especially true in Hawai'i, since we lead the nation in two-wage-earner families, leaving precious little time to care for ill children and family members.

Furthermore, even with the FMLA, many workers are unable to take leave when their families need them most because they cannot afford to take the unpaid leave that the FMLA offers.

The United States lags far behind other nations in helping citizens manage work and family. The United States and Australia are the only industrialized countries without paid maternity or paternity leave. Americans want family and medical leave to be more affordable and accessible, and they support programs that provide income during leave. In fact, 79 percent of working women believe access to paid family and medical leave is more important than increased pay, promotions and job flexibility, according to a 2002 survey by the AFL-CIO.

Fortunately, state lawmakers are beginning to recognize the urgent need for paid leave. In 2002, California adopted a comprehensive paid family leave law — and California is only the first. Paid leave bills have been introduced in 27 other states, including Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Texas. This past session, Hawai'i took a step in the right direction with the passage of a law that requires companies of more than 100 employees to allow workers to use up to 10 days of sick leave to care for a family member.

Paid family leave is essential to working women and men. Today, on the 10th anniversary of the FMLA, we should reaffirm our commitment to working families by pledging to support paid family and medical leave. No one should have to choose between a paycheck and caring for a sick family member or meeting his or her own medical needs.