August 8, 2003
On the Run

When Cheryl Murga's mother had cancer surgery to remove part of her lung two years ago, Murga found herself in a quandary.

A series of family situations that year-her husband's hip replacement, her daughter's bout with mononucleosis-meant that Murga already had used up most of the vacation and sick time she had accrued as part of her job in the public-affairs office at Monmouth University.

"But I knew I had to be with my mother. She needed to be cared for-for a while," Murga said. "She lives by herself, but I knew she wasn't able to be on her own."

"Even if I had been able to get her some sort of live-in nursing care, it would have been very stressful between my family, my job and trying to make sure my mother was all right."

Murga's solution was one an increasing number of people are opting for. She took several weeks of unpaid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA, which was enacted Aug. 5, 1993). But not everyone is celebrating the FMLA's 10th anniversary-especially the state's small-business community.

The FMLA provides employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave during a 12-month period for the birth, care or adoption of a child, to care for a spouse, child or parent who has a serious health condition, or if an employee has a serious health condition that prevents him or her from working.

Under the FMLA, employees are guaranteed reinstatement to their former position or an equivalent position with equivalent employment benefits, pay and other terms and conditions of employment.

New Jersey's family leave policy, which was actually enacted three years before the federal act, provides employees with up to 12 weeks of leave within any 24-month period and also includes temporary disability insurance or employees using the leave because they are temporarily unable to work.

"I have no regrets using it. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. I was very grateful it was available to me," Murga said. "I don't think my job would have been in jeopardy, but I know one of the reasons why it's there is to protect people's jobs."

"For me, it was about peace of mind. I was able to take the time I needed to care for my mother."

Murga's mother has since fully recuperated from surgery and has been cancer-free since the operation.

"I think having someone caring for her every day actually cut her recuperation time," Murga said.

Murga is just one of the thousands of employees to enjoy the benefits of the state or federal family leave acts since they were established.

But, the state's small-business community, in particular, has been opposed to the leave acts, maintaining that the acts have the potential to severely harm the economic viability of small businesses, which can't afford to hold jobs open for employees. The small-business community also has opposed efforts to expand the New Jersey act to, among other things, include some form of paid family leave beyond those employees on temporary disability.

Ironically, one of the groups opposing the family leave acts is the New Jersey Association of Women Business Owners (NJAWBO), a statewide group that also represents one of the act's chief beneficiaries-working women.

While acknowledging the irony, Robin Berg Tabakin, NJAWBO's vice president for public policy, said the group's concerns are, first and foremost, as business entrepreneurs.

"Our primary concern (on this issue) is the growth and stability for all small businesses," said Tabakin, who owns Procurement Initiatives, a consulting firm based in Randolph. "Most business associations I know are against it. It affects small businesses and their ability to grow and to employ people."

Tabakin said state groups such as the 20,000-member New Jersey Business and Industry Association are particularly alarmed at proposals in New Jersey that could, for example, expand the act to include businesses with two or more employees.

Currently, the state act mirrors the federal act's application to employees at companies with a minimum of 50 employees.

"As it is, it's very difficult for a small business in these situations," Tabakin said. "If an employee takes off for an unpaid or paid leave, it's very hard to get a temp to replace them or to hold a job open.

"It's a challenge to even find somebody and then there's the cost of training somebody new.

Not everyone in the business community is opposed to the family leave acts.

Barbara Davis, president of Barbara Davis Employment Co., with offices in Red Bank and Freehold, said she and other employment agencies have benefited from the family leave acts.

"I can imagine that for some business owners it's very difficult to have to hold out jobs and not find a replacement, especially when a lot of people have been down-sizing," Davis said. "But we have benefited. Employers call us when someone goes out on the family leave act. Most employers would like someone they can just pick up and move into the position immediately.

"Sometimes, we're able to find someone soon enough that they can come in (to the employer) before the employee goes out on leave. That helps make the transition smoother."

Davis said so far this year, 14 percent of her business has been a result of the family leave act.

"I can see the issue from so many different viewpoints. I'm fortunate in that I have a business that is benefiting from the act. But for many business owners it costs them money. And they've already cut back so much that every single employee they have is really needed," Davis said. "On the other hand, as a potential grandmother, I would hate to see my daughter not have time off from her job when she gives birth. I'd love for her to have her job saved for her to come back to.

"It's a tough one. I can say I've benefited from it, but I'm one of the few business owners who can say that."

• Must have been employed by an employer for at least 12 months.
• Must have worked for at least 1,250 hours before starting leave.
• Must work at a location with at least 50 employees or within 75 miles of that location.

An employee can take up to a total of 12 workweeks of unpaid leave in a 12-month period for one or more of the following reasons:

• The Birth of a child or to care for a newborn child.
• Adoption or foster care of a child and to care for the newly placed child
• To care for an immediate family member (except for an in-law) with a serious health condition.
• A serious health condition that prevents an employee from working.

• Caring for a seriously ill family member when medically necessary.
• An employee's serious health condition
• Caring for a newborn or newly placed adopted or foster-care child.
• Employers are allowed to require employees to use any accrued paid vacation or personal leave to cover some or all of the leave.

The New Jersey Family Leave Act is similar to the federal act and can be used in addition to the Federal leave act. The state act differentiates from the federal in some ways:

• Eligible employees must have worked for at least 1,000 hours during the preceding 12 months with the same employer.
• The employer must employ a minimum of 50 employees (in or out of N.J.)
• The state law provides for 12 weeks of leave within any 24-month period.
• The law does not allow time for one's own serious health condition.