Labor Law Changes Have Military Perks

The nation's newest major labor law will get its first overhaul in 15 years when revised regulations take effect Jan. 16.

The changes in the Family and Medical Leave Act will tighten notice requirements for employees and add a new option for the military . The changes fall short of demands from businesses to curb what they see as worker abuse of the law.

"I think the Department of Labor did a pretty decent job of providing more clarity as to both employers' and employees' responsibilities," Christina Floyd, senior counsel for Vandeventer Black LLD in Norfolk, said Monday.

Another employment lawyer, David Burton of Williams Mullen in Virginia Beach, said, "I think everybody will find a little something they like and a little something they don't like."

The Family and Medical Leave Act, known as FMLA, was signed by President Bill Clinton in 1993. It permits many workers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to tend to a baby or sick relative, or recover from a serious health condition. The leave may be taken in one stretch or in blocks of time, known as intermittent leave.

The revamped regulations fill in the details of a law signed by President George W. Bush in January offering two new options for military relatives.

One permits a spouse, child, parent or next of kin to take up to 26 weeks off to care for a member of the military seriously injured while on duty.

The other allows up to 12 weeks of leave for relatives of members of the National Guard or reserves who are called "to active duty in support of a contingency operation." The revised rules outline eight triggers, including to attend military programs, arrange child care or make financial arrangements.

"In Hampton Roads, it's likely to have more of an impact than in other places because of the military community here," Burton said. But "I don't anticipate that to be a lot of people."

For nonmilitary workers, the changes include:

Requiring 30 days' notice for "foreseeable leave."

Demanding two doctor's visits a year for workers who claim "chronic" conditions.

Permitting bosses to disqualify employees from perfect- attendance awards or other bonuses if they haven't met the goal because they took leave.

Employer advocates had supported narrowing definitions for "intermittent leave" and "serious health conditions."

"The new forms are perhaps the best thing about the new regs," Atlanta attorney John Phillips wrote in his Word on Employment Law blog.

"If you're hoping they will make the administration of the FMLA substantially easier on a day-to-day basis, I fear you'll be disappointed," Phillips wrote. "If you're hoping they will provide a significant way to reduce FMLA abuse, I fear you'll be disappointed again."

Employees' advocates also voiced mixed reactions.

The final regulations "offer bad news for workers, but mostly good news for military families," said Debra Ness, president of the National Partnership for Women & Families. "They will restrict access to protections workers have relied on for 15 years."

The 762-page rewrite of the rules, issued by the Bush administration last month , does not require congressional approval.

Burton said he doubted President-elect Barack Obama, a Democrat who is expected to be more friendly to unions than Bush, will seek another rewrite soon. "It would take awhile to go through this whole process again," he said.

But Obama, Burton said, might ask Congress to expand the law. For instance, it now applies to workplaces with at least 50 employees. Obama, Burton said, might try to reduce that number to 25.