EMPLOYMENT ALERT: Healthy Families Act

     Back when the Family Medical Leave Act ("FMLA") was being debated in Congress 15 years ago, some claimed that the FMLA was just the beginning of government mandated paid leaves. Liberals scoffed at the prediction claiming that the FMLA was all that was needed to protect the American working family. The prediction has come to fruition with the Healthy Families Act ("HFA") being introduced in both the House (H.R. 2460) and the Senate (S. 1152) of the United States Congress. The HFA applies to public and private employers with 15 or more employees and provides that employees accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours of work, or 7 paid days off per year, to be used to recover from routine illness, care for a sick family member, or recover from domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking. Paid-time-off ("PTO") under the HFA would be in addition to any leave provided under the FMLA, state workers compensation laws, and existing employer programs.

     Unlike the FMLA, HFA does not require that the employee acquire a doctor's certification or even a note regarding the event giving rise to the leave of absence. If the HFA passes, and it is expected to do so shortly, employers will be required to modify their employee benefit packages to comply with the HFA and to revise any paid-time-off already provided by the employer to ensure that productivity requirements are met. Failure to comply with the requirements of HFA, when passed, can result in substantial penalties, costs, and attorneys' fees awarded against the employer.

     Proponents of the HFA argue that paid-time-off is needed to strengthen the family, allow employees to provide for routine care of family members, and to not penalize an employee who decides not to work or cannot work because of a routine illness. Opponents of the HFA label the Act as "Paid Vacation Act" and complain that the HFA would limit an employer's flexibility in designing a benefits package that meets the needs of the individual employee and the workforce and results in significant costs for employers as well as potential loss to employees who prefer other benefits rather than paid sick leave.

     The key point is that HFA applies to private and public employers (union and non-union) having 15 or more employees. Employers should review their benefit packages and employee handbooks to ensure not only compliance with HFA as proposed, but consider modification of other "PTO" time provided by the employer which, in combination with the FMLA leave, disability leave, and the HFA, provides the employee with excessive paid-time-off that affects both work productivity and economic stability of the company.

 If you have any questions, you can contact Gregory M. Meihn at Foley & Mansfield, PLLP., 130 Nine Mile Rd.Ferndale, Michigan. (248) 721-4200.