Family Medical Leave Act
The Family Medical Leave Act of 1993 (P.L. 103-3) specifies that parents are eligible for up to a total of 12 workweeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period for one or more of the following reasons:
* for the birth and care of the newborn child of the employee;
* for placement with the employee of a son or daughter for adoption or foster care;
* to care for an immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent) with a serious health condition; or
* to take medical leave when the employee is unable to work because of a serious health condition.
Information for employers and employees is now available online through the Department of Labor's Employment Standards Administration Web site. The FMLA Guide includes a fact sheet, compliance guide, and other information. The information can be accessed at http://www.dol.gov/dol/esa/fmla.htm. The Department also offers a factsheet on the FMLA, which may be accessed at http://www.dol.gov/dol/esa/public/regs/compliance/whd/whdfs28.htm.
The law, however, does not specify what type of leave employees are eligible to use (e.g., paid or unpaid), or that the types of leave given must be equitable. In many companies, the birth of a child is seen as a medical occurrence, and is covered by sick leave, vacation leave, or disability. Adoptive parenting, on the other hand, is seen as a personal choice, and usually covered by some kind of leave without pay. While your employer may honor equity in leave, there is currently no law to compel them to do so.
In order to address this discrepancy, in the last Congressional session 67 Congressmen sponsored the Leave Equity for Adoptive Parents Act, which would have closed this loophole. Even with a large number of co-sponsors, the bill did not leave committee, and died at the end of the session. The bill has not been submitted this session.
There are many other adoption benefits that may help defer the cost of adoption for your family. See our factsheet on adoption benefits for more information.
This material has been taken from the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse Web site as reviewed and approved for addition to this site on January 15, 2004.
The National Adoption Information Clearinghouse http://naic.acf.hhs.gov, can be reached toll free at 1-888-251-0075,or by e-mail at: naic@calib.com.
