"Some employees had access to leave through union contracts, employer policies, or state statutes, but coverage provided under these provisions was rarely as comprehensive as coverage provided under the FMLA".5 FMLA guaranteed job protection, however, it did not guarantee paid leave. Some employees were allowed to use their accrued sick or vacation time while taking a medical leave, but most didn't have that option. The Family and Medical Leave Act was the first bill signed into law by President Clinton in February 1993 and went into effect in August 1993. "Its main provisions addressed the need to balance the often competing demands of family life and work".6 The passage of the FMLA in 1993 was a historic moment for the United …show more content…
FMLA was first introduced to the House of Representatives in 1985 by Donna Lenhoff of the Women's Legal Defense Fund. When the policy was first drafted it allowed leave for 18 weeks for birth, adoption, or serious illnesses of a child and 26 weeks for one's own health. "Many compromises [were] made to increase the bill's political viability, including reducing the length of allowed leave and increasing the minimum employer size for employers covered by the law"( Lenhoff, ).7 It took nine years, from 1984 to early 1993, between the initial draft of the bill and the actual passage of FMLA. The final version of the bill allows for 12 weeks of unpaid parental and medical