The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) celebrated its 20th birthday on February 5, 2013!

Even though it was only signed into law two decades ago, the act has been helped an estimated 1 million people achieve a better work-life balance. 

What is the FMLA?
FMLA provides eligible employees job protection if they need to take time off to recover from a serious illness, care for a newborn child or ailing family member. However, it could be having a much wider impact if its coverage were extended, critics say. 

What's wrong with FMLA?
It's currently estimated that around 50 percent of the American workforce is not covered by the FMLA, which means they are are still being forced to choose between their job responsibilities and family duties. 

"Consider workers like Edwardo, fired when he broke his ankle because his employer isn't covered by FMLA, or Maria, who took only a long weekend off work after giving birth because she wasn't eligible for leave," wrote Former Colorado Representative Patricia Shroeder and Ellen Bravo of Family Values at Work in a recent blog post for The Hill. 

What does this mean for employers?
If these employee leave rights are extended to guarantee coverage to low-wage employees, a number of businesses will need to expand their employee benefits packages. To verify that all workers are receiving the perks they are owed and streamline administrative paperwork, smaller businesses can outsource their payroll processing duties. 

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