Though 13 percent of U.S. workers took time off in 2012 under the Family and Medical Leave Act, many remain uncovered by the law.
About 13 percent of workers took advantage of the Family and Medical Leave Act in 2012, the same as in 2000.
But the law covers only 59 percent of private-sector workers: those in businesses with 50 or more employees.
57 percent of leave time taken under the law is for an employees own illness.
22 percent is for pregnancy or a new child.
19 percent of leave time is to care for an ill relative.
48 percent of employees who took leave reported receiving full pay, though the law does not require it. Another 17 percent got some pay.
Five percent of covered employees said they could not take needed leave nearly half because they couldnt afford it.
President Obama has proposed expanding the Family Medical Leave Act to smaller workplaces with as few as 25 employees, and funding state-run paid leave programs.
Twenty years after Congress passed the Family and Medical Leave Act, data shows 13 percent of workers took leave in 2012 for a qualifying cause. Thats the same rate as in 2000.
But many workers remain uncovered. Private organizations with less than 50 employees are exempt from having to offer FMLA leave. Only about 10 percent of workplaces surveyed in 2012 were bigger, and at those covered businesses, only 59 percent of employees met qualification criteria.
Most FMLA leave is taken for an employees own illness, followed by pregnancy or a new child. Most employees say they received at least partial pay during the leavemainly from their own banked vacation and sick time.
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