“I Will Always Love You”... and (Legally) Leave You: FMLA Turns 30+
📅 The Year Was 1993...
Whitney Houston’s cover of “I Will Always Love You” dominated the Billboard Hot 100 for 14 weeks. It was the anthem of love, parting, and power ballads. But while she was belting out heartbreak, Congress passed a law designed to protect something just as deeply personal — your right to job-protected leave.
That same year, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was signed into law.
🧾 What the FMLA Gave Us
For the first time in U.S. history, qualifying employees were legally entitled to take unpaid, job-protected leave for:
Birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child
Caring for a seriously ill spouse, parent, or child
Recovering from their own serious medical condition
Eligible employees can take up to 12 weeks off within a 12-month period. Their group health benefits continue, and they’re guaranteed their job (or an equivalent one) when they return.
📉 Why It Still Matters (and Why It’s Not Enough)
While FMLA was groundbreaking in 1993, here’s what hasn’t changed:
It’s still unpaid.
Eligibility is limited: Employees must work at a company with 50+ employees within 75 miles, for 12 months, and have 1,250 hours logged.
It hasn’t been significantly updated since the 2009 military caregiver expansions.
Yet the modern workplace has changed dramatically:
Remote teams blur the 75-mile radius rule
Mental health is a growing reason for leave
Many managers still don’t know what they can’t say when someone requests leave
⚠️ What Employers Often Miss
Even well-meaning employers trip up on:
Not providing FMLA paperwork on time
Letting managers “wing it” instead of following HR process
Confusing state paid leave laws (like CA, WA, NJ) with federal FMLA
One comment, one missed deadline, one denied leave request — and you're looking at a potential lawsuit or DOL complaint.
💡 Takeaway for 2025:
FMLA is your compliance floor, not the ceiling.
✔️ Audit your leave policies
✔️ Train managers on how to respond
✔️ Update your employee handbook to clearly explain who qualifies and what happens next
Because leave is personal — and how you handle it reflects your culture.
🎶 One Last Note...
As Whitney sang, “I hope life treats you kind.”
Let’s make sure your policies do too.