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The report of the 2018 Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) surveys, presenting findings, including comparisons between worksites covered and not covered by FMLA, between employees eligible and ineligible for FMLA, and over time.

Key Takeaways

• Overall, 56 percent of U.S. employees are eligible for FMLA on the basis of employees’ reports of their employment tenure, hours worked, and worksite size.
• Only 10 percent of worksites in the private sector are part of firms large enough to be covered by FMLA (based on employer-reported size), but they employ 59 percent of private sector employees.
• More than three-quarters of U.S. employees have heard of FMLA, but many have gaps in their understanding of its policies.
• Private-sector employees at worksites covered by FMLA and those at worksites not covered by FMLA have substantially different access to leave for qualifying FMLA reasons.
• Overall, 15 percent of U.S. employees report taking leave for a qualifying FMLA reason in the past 12 months.
• Low-wage employees report needing but not taking leave for a qualifying FMLA reason more often than other employees.
• Most employees return from leave to their same employer and job.
• Almost three-quarters of employees (73 percent) report having access to paid leave for their own illness or medical care.
• Among employees who reported taking leave in the past 12 months, 42 percent received full pay, 24 percent received partial pay, and 34 percent received no pay while on leave.
• Two-thirds (67 percent) of employees who receive partial or no pay while on leave report experiencing financial difficulty in making ends meet.
• More than 95 percent of worksites covered by FMLA report positive or neutral perceptions of the overall effect of FMLA on their productivity, profitability, and employees.
• More than 90 percent of worksites covered by FMLA report no difficulty in complying with FMLA requirements overall.
• Some worksites report difficulty covering work during employees’ leave.

Citation

Brown, S., Herr, J., Roy, R., Klerman, J. A. (2020). Abt Associates. Employee and Worksite Perspectives of the Family and Medical Leave Act: Executive Summary for Results from the 2018 Surveys. Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor.

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The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) sponsors independent evaluations and research, primarily conducted by external, third-party contractors in accordance with the Department of Labor Evaluation Policy and CEO’s research development process.