Civil Rights Monitor
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The CIVIL RIGHTS MONITOR is a quarterly publication that reports on civil rights issues pending before the three branches of government. The Monitor also provides a historical context within which to assess current civil rights issues. Back issues of the Monitor are available through this site. Browse or search the archives Volume 5, Number 3 CONGRESS INTRODUCES FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT On January 3,1991, the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1991 (H.R. 2) was introduced in the House by Representatives William Clay (D-MO), Patricia Schroeder (D-CO), Marge Roukema (R-NJ), Bart Gordon (D-TN), and Curt Weldon (R-PA). A companion bill was introduced in the Senate on January 14, by Senators Christopher Dodd (D-CT), Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Robert Packwood (R-OR), and James Jef fords (R-VT). FMLA guarantees job security, previously earned seniority, and continued health insurance coverage for workers who need to take leave to care for a newborn or newly-adopted child, or to care for a seriously ill child, spouse, or parent. The FMLA provides the same guarantees for workers who need leave to recover from their own serious medical conditions. The employee is entitled to take up to twelve weeks of unpaid leave per year for any combination of family or medical leave. In the 101st Congress, the bill passed the House on May 10, 1990 by a vote of 237-187, and the Senate on June 14, 1990 by voice vote, Despite the strong bipartisan support for the bill, and major compromises that limited the bill's coverage, President Bush on June 29 vetoed the legislation. On July 25, 1990, the House fell 53 votes short of the two-thirds needed to override the President's veto, 232-195.
The bill was marked up on March 7 in the House Subcommittee on Labor-Management Relations, and mark up is scheduled for March 13 in the House Post Office Committee (because of its federal employee coverage), and March 19 in the House Education and Labor Committee.
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