PSUMTA - UMA - Family Medical Leave Act

Chances are you or someone you know has taken family or medical leave to care for their own or a family member's illness-or that you will need to do so in the future. Now the law that guarantees you the right to that leave-the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)-is being subjected to a potentially damaging review. We are writing to urge you to voice your support for the FMLA, so that America's families don't have to choose between keeping a job and caring for themselves or a loved one. The U.S. Department of Labor has issued a `Request for Information' on the FMLA, requesting public comments about employer and employee experience with the FMLA. Now each of us has to do our part to ensure that the Administration knows that the public supports the FMLA and will fight any attempts to scale it back. Together we must urge the Administration to stand up for working families and strengthen, not weaken, our nation's only family leave law.

Since 1993, the FMLA has allowed roughly 80 million Americans to take job-protected leave to care for themselves or a loved one when they need it most. The FMLA has been a tremendous success: it has made America's workplaces more family-friendly and helped individuals be productive workers and responsible family members. An enormous coalition of FMLA supporters has organized to respond to the Department of Labor, and many are beginning to submit their comments on the critical need to protect the FMLA.

What you can do: Show your support for the FMLA!

Write the Department of Labor in support of the FMLA. Please note that the model comments also provide a space for you to tell your story about why the FMLA has been important for you or your family. But even if you don't have a personal FMLA story to tell, you should submit these model comments in support of the FMLA to ensure that its protections are there for you when you need them.

Submit your comments to the Department by the February 2, 2007 deadline. Email whdcomments@dol.gov or address written submissions to:

Richard M. Brennan, Senior Regulatory Officer Wage and Hour Division, Employment Standards Administration U.S. Department of Labor, Room S-3502 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20210.

To submit comments online or to view submitted comments, visit www.regulations.gov. Comments of 20 pages or fewer may also be submitted by fax to (202) 693-1432.

If you have questions about the FMLA or need help writing your comments, contact the National Partnership for Women & Families at 202-986-2600 or info@nationalpartnership.org.

GBLS Employment Unit
197 Friend St.
Boston, MA 02114
inava@gbls.org
617 603-1684

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