About the Brief

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Workers who are 55 years old and over are projected to remain the fastest growing segment of working adults in the U.S. through 2022. Health, longevity, education, and attitude are some of the reasons for their continued labor force attachment. In recent years, older workers have also either delayed retirement or re-entered the workforce due to financial losses in the Great Recession. Older workers face different challenges and responsibilities than their younger counterparts. For example, health impediments are a concern among older workers, as the number of serious medical conditions increases by age. In addition, older workers have more elder caregiving responsibilities: more than 22% workers ages 45 to 64 typically care for a parent, and six in ten caregivers report work impact due to caregiving.

The brief explores the family and medical leave-taking behaviors among older workers age 55 and over, compared to younger workers, using information from the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Employee Surveys of 2000 and 2012. Family and medical leave is defined in the DOL FMLA 2012 Survey as leave for one’s own serious health condition; caregiving for a serious health condition of a parent, spouse, relative, or child; for a new child; or to respond to the military deployment of a family member.

Key Takeaways

• Older male workers increased their FMLA leave use in 2012 compared to 2000 (from 11% to 20%).
• Own illness (68% of female workers and 77% of male workers) was the main reason for the longest leave taken by older workers in 2012.
• Older female workers took their longest leave for caregiving responsibilities more frequently than older male workers (30% versus 21%, respectively) in 2012.
• Compared to the 25-39 year old age group, older workers age 55 and over were both more likely to take family and medical leave (6 percentage points more likely) and receive pay for their longest leave in the last 18 months (8 percentage points more likely).

Citation

IMPAQ International. (2017). Family and Medical Leave-Taking among Older Workers. Issue Brief—Worker Leave Analysis and Simulation Series. 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.