In its first seven years as law, FMLA was tapped by 35 million people who took unpaid, job-protected leave to care for a new baby, a sick family member or even themselves. However, due to requirements regarding company size (50 employees or more) and length of service, an estimated 42 percent of the U.S. population is currently not eligible for leave under FMLA. Meanwhile, the need for caregiving leave continues to grow: An estimated 20 percent of the workforce now cares for a relative over age 50, according to a White House-commissioned report. “We need to strengthen FMLA and expand it,” says Rep. John Lewis (D–GA), who has voted in support of attempts to widen the law’s reach. “Too many workers are not protected.” (More about the Best of Congress)

What to Watch
Eligibility Amendments There’s a laundry list of proposals out there to improve FMLA, including adding domestic partners to the list of family members who can take caretaking leave (H.R. 2132), allowing leave for victims of domestic violence or sexual assault and their family members (H.R. 2515) and providing recuperation time for organ donors (H.R. 2776).

H.R. 824 is particularly important because it seeks to set a precedent to reset FMLA to include smaller companies, with 25 or more employees. It also calls for FMLA to cover a child’s or grandchild’s extracurricular and/or school activities.

Obama Administration grants One of FMLA’s major shortcomings is that unpaid leave excludes many low-income workers who cannot afford to take it, says Jodie Levin-Epstein, deputy director of CLASP, a nonprofit advocacy group for low-income Americans. President Obama’s 2011 budget allots $50 million  in competitive grants for states to find ways to provide paid leave under FMLA, as California and New Jersey already do.

Bottom Line
Since late 2008, several new provisions have expanded FMLA’s reach. One effort, spearheaded by Sen. Patty Murray (D–WA), eliminated a loophole that denied an estimated 200,000 airline employees access to FMLA.

Other expansions have focused on military households, including allowing up to 12 weeks of leave when an immediate family member is called to active duty and up to 26 weeks to care for him or her if injured. However, none of these other expansions is currently considered high priority in Congress. But since several measures seek to nationalize those already in effect in some states, precedent may help them along.

Paying for Parental Leave
When it comes to paid parental leave, the United States keeps company with only three other nations (Liberia, Papua New Guinea and Swaziland) in not setting a national standard for it, says Jody Heymann, MD, founding director of the Institute for Health and Social Policy at McGill University and author of Raising the Global Floor, which analyzes employment policies in 192 countries.

“There is enormous global consensus about the importance of paid maternity leave,” says Dr. Heymann, citing Canada’s 50 weeks, Japan’s 58 weeks and Norway’s 90 weeks as leaders. “There is very good evidence that it makes countries more competitive in the long run because they are investing in the next generation.”

All told, paid parental leave is available to about half of all U.S. women (usually funded by disability coverage) and about 7 percent of U.S. men, according to a report to Congress in 2000. Ryan Bitton, a legislative correspondent for Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D–WI), is one of the lucky ones. When his identical twin sons, Jackson and Shepherd, were born premature, paid leave made all the difference to him. Ryan combined paid sick days and six weeks’ paternity leave to be involved with his sons’ care, from the hospital intensive care unit to outpatient physical therapy follow-ups. Now 10 months old, both boys are healthy.

What to Watch
The Federal Employees paid parental Leave Act (FEPPLA) would give federal workers up to four weeks of paid leave for the birth or adoption of a child. Sponsored by Rep. Maloney, FEPPLA has passed the House and, at press time, is awaiting a Senate vote.

Bottom Line
Put a gold star next to this one. This bill has bipartisan momentum and, in an election year, has a very good shot at passing this Congress. If it does, it may set precedent for similar legislation for the private sector.