Historically the United States has followed a policy of employer rights rather than employee rights desiring a flexible labour market. The United States Government does not require employers to offer employees benefits such as health insurance, retirement plans, or paid leave. The benefits that are mandated by legislation are social security, unemployment compensation, workers’ compensation, and unpaid family and medical leave.
There are few federal statutes that address the employer provision of leave benefits. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938 focused on payment for overtime work with the intent that a firm would hire an additional employee rather than pay the existing one time and a half for additional hours. The FLSA also requires that firms provide employees with short paid rest breaks, but the provision does not extend to meal breaks, time off for illness, holidays, or otherwise. In 1993 the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was signed into law providing eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of job-protected unpaid leave. The FMLA was the first piece of legislation to address the competing demands of work and family.[1] Nevertheless, there are several weaknesses with this legislation, namely that it does not cover all workers and it does not offer paid leave.
It is important to clarify that the family and medical leave provided for by the FMLA is not the same as sick leave. FMLA addresses the medium-term needs of employees by providing job-protection for foreseen or medium term family and medical circumstances (e.g. the birth of a child or to care for one’s mother as she goes through chemo-therapy). However, it does not provide for short term employee needs pertaining to health and illness such as the flu, caring for a child who is sick, or attending to family wellness (e.g. doctor’s appointments).
In the past few years paid sick leave has been on the agenda in Congress with the HFA which has been introduced every year since 2005. In 2009, with the H1N1 pandemic, there was a push for paid sick leave legislation with the aim of protecting public health, however the Pandemic Protection for Workers, Families, and Businesses Act did not pass. This year, Connecticut became the first state to mandate paid sick leave.
[1] Sarah Fass, “Paid Leave in the States: A Critical Support for Low-wage Workers and Their Families,” National Center for Children in Poverty (2009): 5, http://academiccommons.columbia.edu /catalog/ac:126284 (accessed October 10, 2011).