Making Sense of the Family and Medical Leave Act. (Originated from The Orange County Register, Calif.)

Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News, August, 1993 by Iwata, Edward

Aug. 2--Is it a boon or a bane to businesses? No one really knows. Corporate folks in Orange County and across the land are trying to make sense of the much-ballyhooed Family and Medical Leave Act. Confusion reigns. The birth pains have begun. The due date for the new federal law: Thursday.

"A lot of employers are just now starting to sit down and think about their leave policies," said Mike Sinkeldam, a lawyer in the Orange office of William Mercer Inc., the health-consulting firm. "It's hard to develop a strategy because it's so early."

Signed into law by President Clinton after former Presidents Bush and Reagan killed it eight years in a row, the act is hailed as a big gain for employees, especially women, who must care for children or parents....