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Got tennis shoes? A self-described "mom in tennis shoes," who also happened to be a U.S. Senator, helped
pass the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) back in 1993. This law has been a real life-saver for tens of
thousands of families. It allows people who work for companies with fifty or more workers up to 12 weeks of
unpaid leave to care for a new baby, or to care for a family member or themselves when facing a serious
health issue.
Now the FMLA, even though it's unpaid leave and only applies to those who work for bigger companies, is at
real risk of being scaled back when it actually should be expanded. As you may know, the current law is
actually quite weak in comparison to the rest of the world. A Harvard study of 168 countries found that only 4
United States of America.
THE LOWDOWN: After years of corporate opposition, the U.S. Department of Labor is now seeking
comments on the FMLA as it reviews the law. The FMLA could be scaled back if supportive citizen
comments aren't plentiful. We need you to put your tennis shoes on for a "volley" of typing in support of the
FMLA.
TELL THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR TO RETAIN & EXPAND THE FMLA: Submit your comments via
e-mail to whdcomments@dol.gov
*And, after you've sent in your comments to the Department of Labor, please also post your comments and
share any stories at http://www.momsrising.org/node/453. Have you ever needed to take time off for family
responsibilities? Did you have paid leave? What happened? Do tell!