New bill in Congress will revamp FMLA to cover smaller employers

How about cutting the 50-employee requirement for covered employers in half?

So, if you have 25 or more employees working within 75 miles of one another, they would be eligible to take leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

And that’s just part of the Family and Medical Leave Enhancement Act of 2014, which Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this week.

Eligible employees would also be able to “participate in or attend an activity that is sponsored by a school or community organization and relates to a program of the school or organization that is attended by a son or daughter or a grandchild of the employee.”

A covered employee could also use FMLA to “meet routine family medical care needs, including for medical and dental appointments of the employee or a son, daughter, spouse, or grandchild of the employee, or to attend to the care needs of elderly individuals who are related to the eligible employee, including visits to nursing homes and group homes.”

We’re talking major FMLA changes here.

For more on the Family and Medical Leave Enhancement Act of 2014, check out this press release from Rep. Maloney.

(h/t Ilyse Wolens Schuman @ D.C. Employment Law Update)