Joan Gale Quoted in Employment Law360

"Intermittent Leave a Thorn in Employers’ Sides"

Joan Gale was quoted in the article, "Intermittent Leave a Thorn in Employers’ Sides," published October 29, 2007 by Employment Law360. The article discusses the Department of Labor’s report summarizing the comments it received from employees and employers concerning their experiences with the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Feedback to the DOL illustrates that employers are frustrated by employees’ abuses of the provision for intermittent unpaid leave of up to 12 weeks per year for employees with serious health conditions. Joan notes, "In some industries, particularly unionized industries, it’s not unusual to see as many as 30% of the workforce certified to take intermittent leave... Many are certified so that they can’t work more than 40 hours a week. This is a real problem for our clients." She further points out that, "The DOL is fully aware of the problem regarding the medical certification process and, under the current administration, it might be amenable to making regulatory changes. But who knows what will happen if a Democratic administration takes over."