The financial impossibility of taking unpaid leave is the single most common reason workers give for not taking leave when they need it, according to the Department of Labor's Technical Report in November of 2013. The "Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act" (the FAMILY Act), introduced in the Senate on December 12, 2013, would provide up to 12 weeks of paid leave each year to qualifying workers for the birth or adoption of a new child, the serious illness of an immediate family member, or a worker's own medical condition.
The FAMILY Act
Time Off, Part 3: Extended Time Off Policies
The previous two posts in this series covered the trend of the paid time off bank, and donating sick leave and floating paid holidays. Today we will look at more extensive plans of paid time off. These are much more expansive than the traditional set number of days off per year. Instead they allow for extensive time off so employees can recharge their batteries, care for a sick family member, bond with a new child, or complete jury or military duty.