
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, August 2, 1994                   TAG: 9408260002
SECTION: NATL/INTL                    PAGE: B5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

FAMILY LEAVE ACT DOESN'T ALWAYS HELP

Jackie Grant, a 12-year employee of Georgia Power Co., fell ill and took a short-term leave. Two weeks later, Grant says, her boss began threatening to fire her. A few weeks afterward, she quit.

Grant's story offers some insight into the misunderstandings surrounding the Family and Medical Leave Act, which in her view should have protected her job but didn't. The Labor Department eventually sided with Georgia Power.

Hailed by supporters as a milestone for American workers' rights, the law, enacted a year ago, hasn't worked as well as envisioned.

It was designed to guarantee the employment security of people who need emergency time off for illness or to care for dependents. But the law doesn't apply to everyone and contains numerous restrictions.

``The law has been tremendously important,'' said Ellen Bravo, executive director of 9 to 5, National Association of Working Women. ``But it's not working for enough people.''

In a survey by 9 to 5, only 46 percent of respondents said information about the leave law was posted at their workplace, as required. Sixty-three percent of those who had taken leave reported problems with their employers concerning misinformation about the law's provisions or their rights.

Of 965 Labor Department investigations of employee complaints, 61 percent were determined to be violations. Usually, employers either refused to return employees to their same or equivalent jobs or refused to grant leave.

Still, more than 90 percent of the complaints were settled with relative ease once employers understood their obligations, Labor Secretary Robert Reich said.

by CNB