The U.S. DOL responds to the requested comments on the FMLA.

After a long and much anticipated wait, the US Department of Labor responded to the public comments that it requested concerning the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Included in the 161-page report was the DOL’s statement that the report does not signal any forthcoming regulatory changes.  So what does the report contain?  Apparently a very large amount of comments received from employers and HR practitioners concerning the problems and difficulties of managing the current version of the FMLA. 

For the time being, administration of FMLA should continue as is, with all of its pitfalls.  However, we suggest that everyone pay specific attention to their states. Just because the federal government is not taking steps to change does not mean that individual states won’t.