Let your HR and Benefits staffers know: There are a number of new bills in Congress right now that would saddle them with increased FMLA responsibilities.
The most recent one is the Parental Bereavement Act of 2011 (S. 1358), a bill that would give employees up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave to deal with the death of a child.
Under the bill, the leave can’t be taken intermittently unless both the company and the employee agree to it.
There’s also the FMLA Inclusion Act (H.R. 2364, S. 1283), which would allow same-sex partners to take leave to care for a spouse, parent, adult child, sibling, grandchild or grandparent.
However, this bill has been introduced in the past, and its chances of passing in the Republican-controlled House are very slim.
Finally, there’s the Family and Medical Leave Enhancement Act (H.R. 1440).
Among other changes, the bill would expand the FMLA to all companies with more than 25 employees. The FMLA currently applies only to firms with 50 or more employees.