The impact of the family and medical leave act

• Published in: Journal of policy analysis and management Vol. 18; no. 2; pp. 281 - 302
• Main Author: Waldfogel, Jane
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01-04-1999; John Wiley & Sons, Ltd; Wiley Periodicals Inc
• Series: Journal of Policy Analysis and Management
• Subjects: Bias; Children; Control Groups; Costs; Earnings; Economic impact; Employers; Employment; Families & family life; Family & Medical Leave Act 1993-US; Family and Medical Leave Act; family leave; family policy; Female employees; Labor legislation; Labor policy; Law firms; Leave of absence; Leaves of absence; Legal aspects; Legislation; Maternity & paternity leaves; Maternity leave; Mathematical analysis; Men; Parental leave; Parting phrases; Policy analysis; Public Policy; Social impact; State law; State laws; State Legislation; United States; Wages; Wages and salaries; Women; Women's employment; Working women
• ISSN: 0276-8739; 1520-6688
• DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1520-6688(199921)18:2<281::AID-PAM5>3.0.CO;2-J

This article uses data from employer surveys and the March Current Population Survey to investigate the impact of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) on coverage, leave-taking, employment, and earnings. The variation in state laws prior to the FMLA and the variation in coverage under the FMLA provides a "natural experiment" in which the effect of the law can be compared for treatment and control groups. Although the FMLA covers less than half of workers in the private sector (many of whom already had coverage pre-FMLA), this article finds that leave coverage and usage did increase post-FMLA. The other surprising finding is that this mandated benefit had no significant negative effects on women's employment or wages. ©1999 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.