ENG215

Assignment 3: Persuasive Paper Part 1: A Problem Exists

A.K.A. American Corporate Values Replacing Family Values

Caitlin Smith

Professor Neil Conway

ENG 215: Research and Writing

May 2, 2016

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The topic of family is a common one for individuals around the world, especially those who are working hard in order to provide the best lifestyle they can for their loved-ones. American’s have been instilled with the idea that hard work will lead to a happy and comfortable life, but how much of this time must be spent working and away from the family that they are striving so hard for a meaningful relationship especially when a major life event, such as a birth or serious illness, occurs? With most of the modern world surpassing our country’s regulations on family medical leave, it has come a time to seriously reevaluate our society’s needs regarding the current Family and Medical Leave Act.

The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 has not changed since its creation except for a recent change in the definition of spouse as determined by the United States Supreme Court following United States v. Windsor on February 25th, 2015 which was expanded to include legal same-sex marriages (Wage and Hour Division, 2016). The provisions of the act include:

The FMLA entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave. Eligible employees are entitled to:

Twelve workweeks of leave in a 12-month period for:the birth of a child and to care for the newborn child within one year of birth; the placement with the employee of a child for adoption or foster care and to care for the newly placed child within one year of placement; to care for the employee’s spouse, child, or parent who has a serious health condition; a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the

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essential functions of his or her job; any qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that the employee’s spouse, son, daughter, or parent is a covered military member on “covered active duty;” or Twenty-six workweeks of leave during a single 12-month period to care for a covered servicemember with a serious injury or illness if the eligible employee is the servicemember’s spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin (military caregiver leave) (Wage and Hour Division, 2016).

All of this may sound like a wonderful idea, but the caveats create this well-meaning legislation’s ultimate failures to those it is meant to serve. The first provision is that this time is unpaid which, although ample in length of time, is not feasible for many working Americans to take the adequate amount time off that they may need simply due to financial constraints. The European equivalent of the Family and Medical Leave Act not only provides 14 weeks of paid leave, with compensation equal to their sick pay, during the event of childbirth or adoption, but also dictates that a pregnant woman may not be required to work night shifts, may return to the same or equivalent position after their leave, and even have the right to request a reasonable change of hours for a “set period” after returning from leave (Professional, Private, and Family Life, 2016).

The next glaring issue is that not all employers are required to allow for such leave under the American Family and Medical Leave Act. Only businesses that employ 50 or more individuals must adhere to the provisions of the act, whereas the system within the European Union guarantees the right to paid leave for all working adults no matter the size of the company under which they are employed (Ludden, J., 2016). Even if an individual does work for a

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company with over 50 employees they must be employed full-time themselves by that company in order to even begin to qualify for approved leave. This is provided through the implementation of a small payroll tax, much like the current social security tax, which both employers and individuals contribute to every pay cycle (Talbot, M., 2015). Although Americans may not like the idea of another tax being imposed on their checks, this would help to reduce the abuse on the current welfare system as many part-time employees turn to welfare as a form of financial aid during a leave of absence (Paid Family and Medical Leave, 2016). The current social security tax imposed on employers and their employees is 6.2 percent and 12.4 percent for self-employed individuals while remaining one of the lowest deductions from working pay (Social Security, 2016). As described in a study applied to the state of Massachusetts by Randy Albelda and Alan Clayton-Matthews, economists at the University of Massachusetts Boston, in 2006: “The total number of family and medical leaves taken increases by just under 25,400 to a total of 467,962, a 5.7 increase. The total number of leaves using the proposed program will be 183,981 (assuming two-thirds of all eligible workers taking leave actually use it). The total cost of the proposed program is $389 million. Averaged across all employees, the annual cost is $120 per worker and the weekly cost is $2.31” (Paid Family and Medical Leave, 2016).

The final major discrepancy between the American Family and Medical Leave Act and the European system is that the European system is mandated and enforced by the government whereas the United States, aside from the few provisions laid out by the Family and Medical Leave Act, allows each state and businesses to ultimately decide how much, if any, aid will be provided for employees (Talbot, M., 2015). This laissez faire attitude, which has allowed for much of the business growth in the United States, also promotes companies to work in their own

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self-interest which, given the choice, most would not pay employees more than absolutely necessary including sick or leave time. Although employers tend to believe that employees would be more likely to abuse paid leave, only about two thirds of working adults would be eligible for the use of paid leave and would be subject to the same scrutiny to ensure that their leave is for legitimate reasons (Paid Family and Medical Leave, 2016). Whether the leave is paid or unpaid, there will always be individuals who will seek to abuse the system for their own purposes, but that does not mean that the system should be abandoned due to all of the good that it provides to those who are legitimately in need of its services and protection.

After all of the difficulties that working adults must face in order to support their families, the shift to paid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act would help to make their leave time that much less stressful. So few changes would have to be made in order to reach a constructive medium ground between the American and European leave provisions that it is not a stretch of the imagination to believe that all of these issues could be addressed within a single presidential term with enough individual and group support.

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References

Ludden, J. (2013, February 05). FMLA Not Really Working For Many Employees. Retrieved April 24, 2016, from http://www.npr.org/2013/02/05/171078451/fmla-not-really-working-for-many-employees

Paid Family and Medical Leave, by Betty Reid Mandell and Randy Albelda, New Politics. (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2016, from http://newpol.org/content/paid-family-and-medical-leave

Professional, private and family life. (n.d.). Retrieved April 24, 2016, from http://ec.europa.eu/justice/gender-equality/rights/work-life-balance/index_en.htm

Social Security. (n.d.). Retrieved April 24, 2016, from https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/ProgData/taxRates.html

Talbot, M. (2015, January 22). America’s Family-Leave Disgrace. Retrieved April 24, 2016, from http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/paid-family-leave-obama-work

Wage and Hour Division (WHD). (n.d.). Retrieved May 7, 2016, from http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/