Skip to main content

For Find Out Friday - How Did Our Family and Medical Emergencies Come to be Protected?


This week I had my scheduled dose of Botox. I receive forty-one shots every three months as treatment for my Chronic Migraine illness. Due to unforeseen circumstances beyond my control, there was a lag in my treatment and I was five weeks overdue. As a result the fatigue I get from this treatment has been impossible. 

While I am grateful that this works so well for me once it kicks in, it has me reflecting on my illness and the sacrifices is has caused over the last several years. An enormous saving grace was the Family and Medical Leave Act, referred to commonly as FMLA.

The Family and Medical Leave Act was passed in 1993 and signed into law by then President Bill Clinton. This federal law celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary this week. It was the first major piece of legislation Clinton signed after only about three weeks in office during his first term.

The Family and Medical Leave Act guarantees employees up to twelve weeks of unpaid leave per year without fear of losing their job. This time off can be used for one’s own health related troubles, as was the case with me, or for those in your family whom you are taking care of. The most important part of this legislation is that there is no termination of your health insurance during this period even if you are off payroll.

New York State has recently updated their FMLA policy to include new parents who can take an additional eight weeks off of their leave in increments or as a whole. 

Many moons ago, way before my personal need to know all about the ins-and-outs of this law became necessary, I learned about this all important act via the Lifetime Channel. It was in a made for t.v. movie called “A Child’s Wish”. It stared John Ritter as a father who had a terminally ill daughter, portrayed by Anna Chlumsky. In the film Ritter has to choose between going to a job he desperately needs or being there for his daughter as her young life slips away. It is a choice no one should ever have to be forced to make. It is a kind of Sophie’s Choice that too many families have had to endure. 

In real life the parents in this movie, George and Vicki Yandle, had to deal with George’s firing after the death of their daughter Dixie. They fought tirelessly for the passage of FMLA and were standing next to President Clinton when he signed the bill into law. In an act of irony Dixie’s last wish to meet the then President was granted by the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and he even portrayed himself in the film. 

Though the FMLA made giant strides there is still much work to be done. FMLA works best for federal, state, and city workers, and private companies where there are over fifty employees. The details of the law are specific and depending on where you work require much to be in compliance. 
However in this day and age it is nice to be reminded of the protections we are guaranteed as Americans and those who had to suffer to make it all possible.

For More Information:







Comments

Popular posts from this blog

For Find Out Friday - Why Do Emery Boards Make My Skin Crawl?

You know that sound a fingernail makes when it scratches against a chalkboard?  You know that feeling the sound of that action gives you? I, like most people, hate that sound.  I instantly feel like scrunching my shoulders up to my neck and closing my eyes.  I feel the exact same way when I am using an emery board to file my nails. This annoying sensation has a name: “grima” which is Spanish for disgust or uneasiness. This term basically describes any feeling of being displeased, annoyed, or dissatisfied someone or something.  It is a feeling that psychologists are starting to pay more attention to as it relates to our other emotions.  Emery boards are traditionally made with cardboard that has small grains of sand adhered to them. It is the sandpaper that I believe makes me filled with grima.  According to studies that are being done around the world, it is not just the feeling that we associate with certain things like nails on a chalkboard or by using emery boards

For Find Out Friday - How Do You Milk An Almond?

Despite my affinity for cheese and other dairy products, occasionally (actually a few times a week) I like to go dairy-free.  During those times I rely heavily on my favorite brand of almond milk, as seen in the picture above.  Though I know there is no dairy in this product, I constantly wonder: “how does one milk an almond”? Logically I am aware that no actually “milking” is taking place.  I also know that almond milk can be made at home, although I have zero interest in attempting to make it despite my love of spending time in my kitchen. So, what is the actual process?  How long does it take?  When / where / who was the first to successful develop this product? When talking about this kind of “milk” what we are really talking about is plant juices that resemble and can be used in the same ways as dairy milk. Plant like juice has been described as milk since about 1200 A.D. The first mentions can be found in a Baghdadi cookbook in the thirteenth

For a Doughnut Worthy of Food Network Glory: “Dun-Well Doughnuts”

All because I wanted a Boston creme doughnut. That is how this blog truly began. It was Father’s Day weekend and although I was initially thinking of myself, I knew my father wouldn’t mind having a sweet treat for dessert. Brooklyn is synonymous with great pizza, bread, and of course bagels. But it also has many great bakeries producing some of the most delicious doughnuts you have ever tasted. Just to name a few, there is: Doughnut Plant , Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop and Dough .   On the day of my craving, I did what any of us do countless times a day - I opened Google. When I Googled “best Boston creme doughnuts in Brooklyn” Dun-Well Doughnuts appeared high on that list. Intrigued I researched it further and learned that it had won the Canadian  Food Network’s contest called “Donut Showdown” in 2013. That was enough information for me to decide to visit the very next day.  Dun-Well Doughnuts was opened by Dan Dunbar and Christopher Hollowell in December 2011. Despite