By Erin Kelly
The Arizona Republic
A new Congress has brought renewed hope to a Scottsdale man who is leading efforts to pass federal legislation that would allow grieving parents to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave from their jobs when their child dies.
“We believe we have the momentum to get congressional hearings and action on a bill,” said Barry Kluger, who has helped launch a petition drive that has gathered more than 50,000 signatures in support of the legislation.
Kluger is flying to Washington this week as Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., prepare to introduce the legislation on Tuesday. It will be the 20th anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act, which the lawmakers hope to amend to allow time off for grieving parents.
The landmark law, signed on Feb. 5, 1993, by President Bill Clinton, gives people up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a newborn or a sick parent, child or spouse. It also gives workers the right to take unpaid leave when they are seriously ill.
“Frankly, I would need more than 12 weeks if something happened to my son, said Kaine Fisher, RLG family law attorney. “But it would be a step in the right direction at affording parents at least some hope of being able to pick up the pieces after an unthinkable tragedy. I would like to think that most employers would be flexible with this kind of situation already, but hopefully Congress will draw a line in the sand about what that flexibility must look like.
Meanwhile, David Weissman, director of the RLG Employment Law and Managed Health Care Law Practice, supports Kluger’s effort.
“To me, this seems like a reasonable amendment to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA),” Weissman said. Statistically, it appears that it would have a relatively low impact on employers while allowing those employees in the unthinkable situation of losing a child to take time off without fear of job loss. So long as the leave period allowed under any such amendment to the FMLA is part of (and not in addition to) the 12-week leave currently allowed for any other FMLA qualifying event, I would be in favor of this type of amendment to the law.”
If you’d like to discuss family law, contact with Kaine Fisher, kfisher@roselawgroup.com.
If you’d like to discuss employment or health care law, contact David Weissman, director of the Rose Law Group Employment Law and Managed Health Care Law Practice, dweissman@roselawgroup.com
