@079 CHAP 9 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� � FEDERAL AND STATE FAMILY LEAVE LEGISLATION � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� Congress has attempted twice since 1990 to enact a paren- tal and family leave act. Twice, such legislation passed in Congress (in 1990 and 1992), but was vetoed successfully both times by President Bush. One of the first acts of the new Democratic Administration was to get a family and medi- cal leave bill passed in Congress again. This time, the bill was immediately signed into law by President Clinton, on February 5, 1993, and goes into effect on August 5, 1993. @IF000xx]The new law will not directly affect a company that has no @IF000xx]employees, such as @NAME. @IF000xx] @IF001xx]The new family leave law does not directly affect your firm, @IF001xx]as @NAME has only one employee. @IF001xx] @IF049xx]Your business, with only @EMP employees, is exempt from the @IF049xx]new Family and Medical Leave Act. @IF049xx] The new law applies to all companies with 50 or more employ- ees within a 75-mile radius (including non-profit entities). This means that companies that employ about half of all employees in the U.S. are subject to the family leave law requirements. @IF050xx]It also means that your company, which employs a total of @EMP @IF050xx]workers, may be subject to the Family and Medical Leave Act @IF050xx]requirements, if at least 50 of the employees who work for @IF050xx]@NAME are in a 75-mile mile radius. @IF050xx] The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 provides that cov- ered employers are required to: . Offer their employees 12 weeks of unpaid leave after the birth or adoption of a child; to care for a seri- ously ill child, spouse or parent; or for an employee's own serious illness; . Maintain health care coverage for an employee who is on a leave of absence as described above; and . Guarantee that employees will be able to return to either the same job or to a comparable position after the leave. A serious illness must be verified by a physician's certi- fication, and the employer may require a second medical opinion if desired. An employee is required to provide the employer 30 days' notice for foreseeable leaves of ab- sence for a birth, adoption, or planned medical treatment. One major exception to the law's coverage is a provision that exempts certain "key" employees from coverage. For this purpose, "key employees" are defined as the highest- paid 10% of the employer's work force and those whose leave of absence would cause significant economic harm to the employer. Also exempted from the law's provisions are employees who haven't worked at least one year and who haven't worked at least 1250 hours, or 25 hours a week, in the preceding 12 months. Employers are given the option of substituting an employee's accrued PAID leave for any part of the 12-week period of family leave. @CODE: CA CALIFORNIA FAMILY LEAVE REQUIREMENT As usual, Congress seems to have been following in the footsteps of the California legislature, which had recent- ly adopted its own family leave law. Effective since January 1, 1992, California businesses that employ 50 or more workers are required to grant un- paid leaves of absence to employees with new children -- whether newborn or adopted -- or for the purpose of caring for a sick child, parent, or spouse. The California Family Rights Act of 1991 provides for leaves of up to 16 weeks every two years. Employees already entitled to 4 months of pregnancy leave under California law may take an additional month to care for a newborn child. Under the Family Rights Act, if need for such a leave is foreseeable, the employee must give the employer reasonable advance notice and, where possible, must make reasonable efforts to schedule the leave to avoid disruption of the employer's operations. An employer may require, or the employee may choose, to apply accrued vacation or other accrued paid or unpaid leave time to the family leave. Employees may NOT use sick leave during the leave period unless both the employer and employee agree to it. During the period an employee is taking family leave, he or she is entitled to continue to participate in health plans, retirement plans and supplemental unemployment benefit plans of the employer, if any; but the employer may require the employee to pay health insurance premiums at the group rate and need not contribute to retirement plans for the employee during the leave period. Upon returning from such a leave, the employee is entitled to the same or a comparable position as prior to the leave. An employer is not required to grant leave in certain situ- ations, such as the following: . where the child's other parent is also taking family leave or is not employed; . where the employee is one of the five highest paid employees, or among the top 10% of employees, in terms of gross salary; or . where the leave, if granted, would result in undue hardship to the employer's operations. @CODE:OF @CODE: HI HAWAII FAMILY LEAVE REQUIREMENTS Recent Hawaii legislation (1991), which preceded the new federal family leave law, requires covered companies to pro- vide a total of 4 weeks per year of "family leave" upon the birth or adoption of a child, or to care for a child, spouse or parent with a serious health condition. The leave can be paid or unpaid, or a combination of both. Leave time may not be accumulated from year to year. Employees must have been on the job six months to be eligible for such leave. The employer or employee may elect to utilize accrued sick leave or vacation time as part of the mandated family leave. @IF000HI]The Hawaii family leave law doesn't apply to your company, @IF000HI]@NAME, since you have no employees. @IF000HI] @IF001HI]The Hawaii family leave law doesn't apply to your company, @IF001HI]@NAME, with only one employee. @IF001HI] @IF006HI](It applies only to companies with 100 or more employees.) @IF049HI]Because your firm has fewer than 50 employees, it isn't sub- @IF049HI]ject to the Federal family and medical leave requirements. @IF050HI]Because your firm has 50 or more employees it MAY be subject @IF050HI]to the Federal family and medical leave law's provisions. @IF099HI]Note that the Hawaii family leave law only applies to busi- @IF099HI]nesses with 100 OR MORE employees, and thus does not apply @IF099HI]to @NAME, which has @EMP employees. @IF100HI]In addition, you will DEFINITELY be subject to the Hawaii @IF100HI]law, which applies to businesses with 100 or more employees, @IF100HI]since @NAME has @EMP employees. @CODE:OF