Society is full of employed caregivers and parents working to meet the need to support life. Parents and caregivers have families that entirely depend on them for general care and provision. At times, care and devotion to family becomes more demanding at home than at work, especially if a family has a sickly person. In this case, the caregivers and parents require time off to attend to the arduous cases they encounter in dynasties. The United States, therefore, submits to the obligation of offering employees the right to care by adhering to the guiding dogma of 1993’s Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) (Arellano, 2015).
Expressly, some employees are legible beneficiaries of the FML Act to job-protected and unpaid vacation. However, the days off session apply to employees responding to medical and family needs while profiting from the employers’ health benefits plan. Family and Medical Leave Act is essential in determining equity between the employees’ families and the place of work.
The Ultimate Purpose of the FML Act
Formulating this job-protected and unpaid leave facilitates a balance between the workers’ ever-growing needs and workplace responsibilities. However, the leave is event-specific, as it entails taking care of a family member’s medical and substantial necessities. Innumerable amendments have been made since the Act’s endorsement, the latest being service delivery expansion, to incorporate the airline flight crew and individual legislative employees into the care. The Act directs that covered employees need to have up to 12 workweeks of leave in a year (Donovan, 2017).
Some of the criteria applicable for granting the consent include the following. The first criterion is that the employees are legible to enjoying the break in case they have a newborn. Applicability ultimatum for taking days off to support a newborn is that the break should be taken within the 12 months of the childbirth (Donovan, 2017). A fostered or adopted child is permitted to the right of care accessed through this Act.
For a vacation to be granted, the seriousness of an employee’s condition is a determining factor. The illness situation needs to be severe to the extent of incapacitating the employee’s work performance. For the military employee, the exigencies for leave for a qualified soldier matures when an individual seeking the permission to care for a child, spouse or parent confirms the severity of their conditions (Donovan, 2017). Generally, the purpose of granting leave as per the FMLA’s guidance is viewed as a support from the employer, aimed at empowering the employee to take care of personal responsibility and earn job security.
The Comparison of Employee’s and Employer’s Privileges and Responsibilities under FMLA
The Responsibility of the Employee
An employee needs to notify the employee for a leave request 30 days prior to the material day. Giving accurate data is an employee’s responsibility, as the determination of the break occurs in reference to the provided facts. When actualities for vacation are true, the grant agreement is enjoyable by both the employer and employee. At times, the employee’s responsibility for periodic recertification or certification supports the employee’s needs for the leave grant.
Employer Responsibility
It covers employers’ responsibility to reveal to the workers applying for the leave whether they are qualified for the leave under the FMLA confines. If the staff is entitled, the notification needs to specify any extra information tallying to the employees’ rights and responsibilities in the matter. The employers also need be responsible for the obligation of restoring the servant to a comparable or the same benefits as to the previous job and maintain records. Thus, an employer’s primary directive is to offer information on the member’s application of the leave and act as the primary determinant of whether the worker with be granted the break. Meister (2015) reveals that the boss’ responsibility creates a servant’s deserved experience of receiving elements such as virtual job issues, the physical, intellectual and emotional experience.
The Rights of both Employers and Employees
The staffs have rights to FMLA authority, including eligible workers to take unpaid but job-protected leave. In every 12 months, servants have right of taking a 12 workweeks vacation. Consequently, employers have no reason to deny those serving them the days off as stipulated in FML Act requirements. On the contrary, employers as well have various rights in this concern. Among the rights, the boss is allowed to deny the vacation, if the person applying does not meet the utmost requirement. The proprietor can as well reject the application if the company has fewer employees, and the need is not genuine among other rights.
Application of FMLA to Thad’s situation
Thad is working for a mid-size firm, meaning that the organization has more than 50 employees. In terms of size, the association is an eligible benefactor of the Act. Thad has worked for the corporation for four years, while the minimum requirement is at least 12 months. The Act as well requires that employees relish up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave and care for a seriously ill child, spouse, or parent.
Thad wants to take care of his son, because he is to attend alcohol and drug treatment. He qualifies for the FMLA leave if the employer is an eligible member; however, the adult child’s condition is not exact (Remington et al., 2012). Thad therefore, needs to explain the severity of the adult child’s condition, and expound whether he is the only caregiver to the child. Basing on Thad’s explanation, his chances for leave opportunity are minimal.
An Excerpt for the Company’s HR Policy and Manual Concerning FMLA
The following excerpt will act as the company’s HR policy and is stipulated as follows. The eligible employees must have worked for the company for not less than 12 months. The leave is applicable for the employees seeking chance attend to a young one (newborn) or a child that has been fostered or adopted and severely must receive care. The employee will only be allowed to apply for days off to attend to an immediate family member, including a child, a spouse, and a parent, but those with severe conditions. Arrangement for the employee’s leave will occur in advance before the actual leave.
The Rights and Responsibilities under FMLA Paper
Each associate has to have defined rights and responsibilities as stipulated by the FML Act. For instance, the staffs members have the right to receive up to 12 weeks in a period of 12 months. The leave is unpaid, but the break will help everyone have the liberty to handle essential issues of their lives (The U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2020). Every participant will have to continue benefiting from the health-care plans as active labors of the company. At the end of the leave, every individual should come back with a note from the physician. However, it is the responsibility of all participants to understand the Act’s provision before applying because everyone will have to consent to the legal requirements before being granted the leave. It means, upon violating any provision of the policy, the employee will have to be responsible for any damage thereof.
In conclusion, Family and Medical Leave Act is an effective policy that fights for the rights of the employees. The Act advocates for those seeking leave to attend to their family members. Advantageously, the act allows workers to apply for a 12 weeks off in every 12 months. This condition enables partakers to strike balance between the staff associates and their companies. The Act helps applicants appreciate the value of taking the responsibilities of caring their families.
References
Arellano, J. (2015). Don’t leave U.S. behind: Problems with the existing family and medical leave act, and alternatives to help enhance the employee work -family relationship in the 21st century. Sage Journal. Web.
Donovan, S. A. (2017). Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA): Proposed legislation in the 114th Congress. Congressional Research Service. Web.
Meister, J. (2015). Airbnb chief human resource officer becomes chief employee officer. Web.
Remington, J., Heiser, R. T., Smythe, C., & Sovereign, K. (2012). Human resources law (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River.
The U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (n.d). Other employment issues. Web.