The Family and Medical Leave Act was a good start, but it’s time for something new

Twenty-nine years ago, American workers and families got a big win when the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was signed into law. It was a groundbreaking law to protect workers from discrimination when they need to take time off to care for themselves or a loved one. It has made a particular impact on the lives of women who were often forced out of the workforce due to caregiving responsibilities or passed over for promotions and other opportunities simply for being women. 

The FMLA was designed to protect jobs — and ultimately the livelihoods — of workers so they could take time off to care for themselves and their family members. But as working people across the country have found out over the years, the FMLA has its shortcomings. Millions of families have benefitted from the FMLA since its enactment, but it protects only 56 percent of the U.S. workforce — meaning that millions more families are still vulnerable. This leaves out workers at too many businesses, many people who work one or multiple part-time jobs, and people reentering the workforce who either lost their jobs or had to quit due to caregiving responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Now more than ever, and as we celebrate the anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act, it is vital to update the law to meet the needs of today’s workers and their families.  

Later this month, we will introduce the Job Protection Act, new legislation to modernize the FMLA and close gaps in its coverage. The Job Protection Act will give workers—no matter who they work for or what type of job they have—the crucial protections that too many have been denied for decades. It will give more parents and children their best start together, by providing adequate bonding time with a new child. And it will allow workers who have changed jobs or are returning to work the opportunity to have job protection if they need to care for their health or their families.

Over the last two years, the term “frontline workers” has taken on new meaning, and now includes cashiers, servers, teachers, school nurses, and delivery workers. These workers, who are disproportionately people of color and paid low wages, have put themselves and their families’ health on the line to keep us going in this pandemic. Yet they are often the least likely to be able to take needed time off from work because they either don’t qualify for FMLA protections or can’t afford to go without pay. This adds to the many barriers women of color, workers with low-incomes, and caregivers face in trying to advance their careers and provide a better life for their families.

As we rebuild our economy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States faces increasing pressure to join the rest of the industrialized world in finally guaranteeing paid family and medical leave for its workers. The expansion of FMLA coverage under the Job Protection Act is a necessary complement to ensure that any paid leave program is truly equitable and protects the jobs of the most vulnerable workers.

With so many glaring barriers to access, it’s clear that the FMLA is long overdue for an update. Back in 1993, when the National Partnership and others won the hard-fought battle to pass the FMLA, we knew it wasn’t over — the FMLA was always a first step toward giving people the ability to care for themselves and their families without sacrificing their jobs and income. Twenty-nine years later, we need more people to join the fight to make sure every worker is covered under the FMLA, giving more workers, women, and families access to these crucial protections.

Lauren Underwood represents the 14th District of Illinois and Jocelyn Frye U.S. president of National Partnership for Women & Families.