Giving Workers a Break : Isn’t family leave consistent with family values?

Family values may be the cornerstone of the Republican presidential platform, yet, oddly, President Bush is threatening again to veto the Family and Medical Leave Act. The bill would allow employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave and to return to the same job or a similar one.

The President vetoed similar albeit stronger family leave legislation two years ago. He has promised to do the same to the most recent family leave legislation despite compromises intended to make the bill more palatable to employers.

The bill would apply to less than half of the U.S. work force, according to congressional data, because it applies only to large companies with 50 or more employees and to government workers. While the proposed law would allow a maximum of 12 weeks, many employees would take much less time off. Moreover, the bill would limit family leave to workers who averaged at least 25 hours per week and would allow the exclusion of upper management.

One study done for the Small Business Administration found that granting unpaid leave can be cheaper than replacing workers who are terminated or who resign.

It’s true that employers would be obligated to continue health insurance benefits. That generous provision would provide a little peace of mind for employees during a very stressful time.

How many employees can do their best work when they are preoccupied with a child suffering from leukemia, a spouse stricken by a heart attack, the birth of a baby?

How many employees can afford to put their families ahead of job security in the face of high unemployment and a labor market made even more competitive by the recession, mergers, government budget cuts and foreign competition?

Forty years ago most mothers stayed at home with their children. Those days are gone for the majority of American mothers. Working parents must make many sacrifices, but the health of their children need not be one of them. President Bush should be true to his family values and sign the family leave bill.