The Family and Medical Leave Restorative Act (H.R. 2161)

heather1027

The Family and Medical Leave Restorative Act (H.R. 2161) was reintroduced to Congress and is currently in the House Subcommittee.  This basically is calling to reverse some of the new changes which were put in place in the latest FMLA revisions and it's also calling to revise new regs.  I'm attaching the most amount of info I can find on it and I would like to hear what you-all have to say about it!?

The first proposal (H.R 2161) — introduced by Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH) — essentially seeks to reverse many of the changes passed in January, such as:

• Restore protections that prevent an employer from forcing an employee to use more incremental FMLA leave than is medically necessary
  
• Reverse limitations placed on the use of accrued paid leave while on FMLA
  
• Restore the prohibition on denying attendance bonuses as a consequence for taking FMLA leave
  
• Restore protections that prohibit the waiving of an employee’s FMLA rights without review and approval by the DOL or the courts
  
• Restore protections that prohibit an employer from approving or denying FMLA leave based on compliance or noncompliance with employer leave request policies
  
• Restore employee privacy by reversing regulations that would allow an employer to directly contact an employee’s medical provider
  
• Restore previous “fitness-for-duty” certification rules for employees who take intermittent leave
  
• Direct the Labor Department to (a) revise the so-called Bush regulations affecting recertification timelines and (b) revise the provided medical certification template to include the definition of a “serious health condition.”

TXHRGuy

[quote user="heather1027"]

The Family and Medical Leave Restorative Act (H.R. 2161) was reintroduced to Congress and is currently in the House Subcommittee.  This basically is calling to reverse some of the new changes which were put in place in the latest FMLA revisions and it's also calling to revise new regs.  I'm attaching the most amount of info I can find on it and I would like to hear what you-all have to say about it!?

[/quote]

I think it will soon (again) be a good time to be a trial attorney who specializes in employment law.

heather1027

TX - that's funny!  They are crazy!  

We are trying to manage businesses here; by meeting customer deadlines, shipping dates, production schedules, inventory controls, manpower requirements and the like.  This cloudy back-n-forth regs are ridiculous, a waste of tax dollars and a potential threat to the remaining American manufacturing operations.  I fear the day they unleash the Employee Free Choice Act and the RESPECT Act to help promote unionization while gaining control over the front-line supervisors.  And the health care reform scares me to death, the last thing I want is a failing health care system that is modeled after England or Canada!