Performance Goal WHD 3.2: Family and Medical Leave Act

Promote flexible workplace policies through enforcement of the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Other Information:

Protecting Jobs So Workers Can Care for Family -- The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows for workplace flexibility while protecting a worker’s job. WHD is responsible for ensuring that eligible workers covered under the FMLA are afforded the protections specified in the law. The FMLA, and WHD’s enforcement of it, contributes directly to providing workplace flexibility for family and personal care-giving. In support of this goal, WHD is becoming more customer service-oriented and using stakeholder outreach and new technologies to improve customer service, transparency, and openness. WHD will strive to provide timely and responsive service to workers and others who allege FMLA violations. To this end, WHD will: • Improve the accuracy and professionalism of advice and information provided to the public (by telephone, in speeches and presentations, and in writing); • Improve the skill levels of WHD personnel by establishing career training curricula; • Reinstitute customer service surveys for complainants and participants in outreach events; and • Increase the accessibility to WHD services and WHD visibility. WHD will continue its aggressive outreach activities as it spearheads the Department’s We Can Help nationwide campaign, which will help connect workers with the broad array of services offered by the agency and address such topics as rights in the workplace and how to file a complaint with WHD. WHD will measure customers’ satisfaction with its FMLA services to demonstrate progress in promoting workplace flexibility. Through regulatory activities, WHD will continue to review the implementation of the new military family leave amendments to the FMLA enacted as part of the National Defense Authorization Acts for FY 2008 and FY 2010. In FY 2008, the National Defense Authorization Act updated the FMLA regulations to implement new military family leave entitlements. The National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2010 included amendments that expand on the military family leave rights added to the FMLA in 2008. The military family leave provisions provide qualifying exigency and military caregiver leave for families of covered military members.

Indicator(s):

Indicator:1

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