EBS ART ILS95-4 1/95 UNPAID FAMILY LEAVE TIME-OFF

Unpaid Family Leave

Issues in Labor Statistics
Summary 95-4
January 1995


Prior to the enactment of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, family leave was 
provided infrequently and tended to be concentrated among those establishments offering health 
care and retirement benefits.  The 1993 law requires employers to provide unpaid time off to 
employees for the purpose of caring for newborn or newly adopted children, sick family 
members, or for personal illness. (See box for details of this law.) Before the law was enacted, 
family leave provisions were governed by a variety of State laws, collective bargaining 
agreements, and individual employer decisions.  The Bureau of Labor Statistics has collected 
data on the availability of family leave since the 1980s.  Using data for 1991 and 1992, the 
relationship of family leave to other major employee benefits in an establishment was examined. 
(For this survey, family leave is defined as a plan that allows some amount of unpaid time off 
associated with a parent's care of a newborn or newly adopted child.  It is separate from other 
employer-provided leave benefits, such as vacations or personal leave, that might also be used 
for child-care purposes.)

In 1991-92, 24 percent of workers in private industry had unpaid family leave benefits available 
to them, according to the BLS Employee Benefits Survey.  Paid family leave was available to 
only about 1 percent of private industry workers.  The incidence of unpaid family leave benefits 
varied widely, with full-time workers more likely to be covered than part-time workers, and 
employees of larger establishments more likely to be covered than those in smaller ones.  The 
survey measured the incidence of three other major employee benefits in establishments that 
provided unpaid family leave and in those that did not.  In all cases, the prevalence of medical 
care, dental care, and defined benefit pensions was greater in establishments that also provided 
unpaid family leave.  In addition, the amount of unpaid family leave available was directly related 
to the availability of these other benefits.  As the average number of unpaid family leave days 
available increased, establishments were more likely to provide other benefits. (See table.) For 
example, 86 percent of full-time employees in establishments with an unpaid family leave plan 
participated in a medical care plan, but only 72 percent of full-time employees in establishments 
with no unpaid family leave plan participated in such a plan.  Furthermore, medical care plan 
participation was 91 percent in those establishments providing 6 months or more of unpaid 
family leave.

These data suggest that employers who provide any one of these major benefits tend to have a 
more extensive benefits package overall.  This can also be seen when comparing key medical 
care plan provisions among establishments with 100 workers or more that do and do not 
provide unpaid family leave.  The average medical care deductible, among plans that impose 
such employee payments before the cost of services is reimbursed, was about $24 per year 
lower in establishments providing unpaid family leave than in establishments without such 
benefits.  Similarly, the catastrophic expense limit-the amount of medical expenses that must be 
paid by the individual before the plan will begin reimbursing expenses at 100 percent was about 
$63 per year lower in establishments providing unpaid family leave.


The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 entitles eligible employees to 12 unpaid weeks of 
leave during any 12-month period for:   birth or placement for adoption or foster care of a child; 
serious health condition of a spouse, child, or parent; and serious health condition of an 
employee.
Employees are eligible if they have worked at least 12 months for a given employer and at least 
1,250 hours during the 12 months prior to requesting leave.  Excluded are employees who 
work for an employer with fewer than 50 people within a 75-mile radius of the employee's 
worksite.  Coverage applies to private establishments, Federal, State, and local governments, 
and Congress.
There is no requirement for paid leave under the law.  However, an employee who completes a 
period of leave must be returned to the same position held before the leave, or to a position 
equivalent in pay, benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment.
Health benefits must continue during the leave period 'under the same conditions coverage 
would have been provided if the employee had continued in employment continuously during the 
duration of such leave.'