The Contractual Diminishing of FMLA Employee Rights

Bernadette Marczely

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DOI: 10.2190/CN.32.4.b

Abstract

Initially, the Family and Medical Leave Act provided employees with up to 12 work weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave a year, during which time group health benefits were maintained. The FMLA's purpose, as defined by the U.S. Department of Labor was to allow employees to balance their work and family life by taking reasonable unpaid leave for certain family and medical reasons. The FMLA sought to do this in a manner that accommodates the legitimate interests of employers and employees. The law said that employees may choose to use, or employers may require the employee to use, accrued paid leave to cover some or all of the FMLA leave taken. Employees may choose, or employers may require, the substitution of accrued paid vacation or personal leave for any of the situations covered by the FMLA. Nevertheless, in the wake of the FMLA's passage in 1993 and the passage of the Family and Medical Leave Clarification Act in 2001, collective bargaining has removed the original options provided individuals under the law, substituting contractual requirements. This article discusses the unforeseen consequences of editing FMLA rights provided through the collective bargaining process.

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