While the regulations would expand FMLA access for military families, they will chip away at such access for the rest of the American workforce.  Among other measures, the regulations will jeopardize workers’ medical privacy; make it harder for workers to access FMLA leave and easier for employers to deny it; and make it more difficult for workers to use vacation time or other paid leave while on FMLA leave –rendering it impossible for some workers to take FMLA leave at all.

“This effort to undermine the Family Medical Leave Act shows that when it comes to family values, the current administration is all talk,” Maloney said.  “A serious economic downturn is the worst time to ask workers to choose between their jobs and their families or health.  In the next Congress, I will be working with President-elect Obama not only to fix these misguided regulations, but to expand family and medical leave to Americans who need it.”

“I thank Congresswoman Maloney for her leadership on this vital issue,” said Speaker Christine C. Quinn.  “While I certainly applaud the expansion of FMLA protections to military families, the ways in which these new regulations chip away at the current protections is unconscionable.  The changes to the regulations do nothing but create roadblocks for hard working Americans as they try to balance the demands of work in a time of great economic need and of caring for their families.”

“It's outrageous that our lame duck president would use the final 70 days of his time in office to chip away at the rights of workers to care for their families and themselves,” said Council Member Lappin.  “This is a misguided decision that is not in the country's interests now, during an economic downturn, or ever.”

According to the National Partnership for Women and Families, under the new regulations:

* Employers will have more direct access to the health care providers and health information of workers and their family members—jeopardizing workers’ medical privacy.

* Workers will have less time to give notice of their need for leave while employers get more time to let them know whether the request for leave has been approved—making it harder for workers to access FMLA leave.

* Workers will have more requirements regarding fitness for duty policies and more procedures for requesting FMLA leave—which again will make it easer for employers to delay or deny FMLA leave. 

* It will be more difficult for workers to use their paid leave (such as paid vacation) while on FMLA leave—making it impossible for some workers to take FMLA leave at all.

###

November 17, 2008

The Honorable Rahm Emanuel
The Obama-Biden Presidential Transition Team
Washington, D.C. 20270

Dear Congressman Emanuel:

I write to express my concern regarding the revised regulations of the Family and Medical Leave Act finalized Friday by the Bush Administration’s Department of Labor.  While the new regulations include positive steps to expand access to FMLA leave for members of our armed forces, they also include provisions that would undermine access to leave for millions of hardworking Americans. 

Among other measures, the new regulations will give employers more direct access to workers’ health information, potentially compromising workers’ medical privacy; give workers less time to give notice of their need for leave and grant employers more time to approve or deny such requests; allow employers to require “fitness for duty” evaluations for employees returning from leave; and make it more difficult for workers to use vacation or other paid time off as part of their FMLA leave, rendering leave less attainable for struggling families.

I thank President-elect Obama and you for your steadfast support of working Americans, and I know that you will agree that our current economic downturn is no time to ask workers to choose between their jobs and their families or health.  Accordingly, I respectfully request that the President-elect’s transition team take a close look at how we may expeditiously redress any new regulations that undermine access to FMLA leave.

I greatly appreciate your attention to this matter.  I look forward to working with President-elect Obama and you to improve the lives of American workers in the months and years to come.

Sincerely,

CAROLYN B. MALONEY
Member of Congress