Signing Off on a Revolution

In an acknowledgment of the social and economic revolutions that have propelled the majority of American women into the work force, President Clinton has signed his first bill into law, the important Family Leave Act. This much needed federal protection will allow employees of large companies to take as much as 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a new baby, a newly adopted child or a sick family member without losing their jobs.

“Now millions of our people will no longer have to choose between their jobs and their families,” Clinton said. “ . . . Men and women are more productive when they are sure they won’t lose their jobs because they are trying to be good parents.”

Clinton clearly understands this issue, and it’s easy to see why. Working mothers are nothing new for him. He was raised by a mother who worked as a nurse. He is married to a working mom, Hillary Rodham Clinton, a lawyer and now head of her husband’s task force on health care.

Among the Clintons’ generation, families in which both parents work are the rule rather than the exception.

Former President George Bush twice vetoed similar legislation. The election of Clinton to the White House green-lighted the bill despite Republican attempts to derail it by linking family leave to the issue of gays in the military. Congress is to be commended for such unusually speedy action.

The family leave law, which is scheduled to take effect in six months, spares small businesses that might not have the resources to get by when an employee takes unpaid leave: It exempts companies with fewer than 50 workers. Larger businesses must allow workers to take the time off without losing health benefits and return to the same or an equivalent job. (Of course, employees need not take the full 12 weeks if they need less.)

A generation ago, the majority of mothers stayed home. When crisis struck their families, they became the care-takers who were always on call. Their “jobs” were not jeopardized by the birth of a baby, the illness of a child or other family emergencies.

A woman’s place today is in the home, in the workplace, in the military and in the White House. The family leave law recognizes these new realities, and legislates a little compassion for working moms and dads.