PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT FMLA

AMY GAGE, STAFF COLUMNIST

For a law that's more than five years old, the Family and Medical Leave Act remains surprisingly mysterious to workers and employers.

Employment law attorneys call it a goldmine for their practice. Labor union activists argue the law must be expanded. The 60 percent of Americans who even have heard of the FMLA don't know whether it applies to them.  All agree some education is in order.

The Family and Medical Leave Act grants 12 weeks of unpaid leave to people who work at a company with at least 50 employees for a serious health condition, the birth or adoption of a child and other dependent care. The Clinton administration has proposed including companies with at least 25 employees. That would cover almost 260,000 more Minnesotans.

Meanwhile, since 1993, some 12,000 complaints have been filed against employers for refusing to grant a leave or to reinstate an employee who has taken unpaid time off.

In addition to posting a written policy, employers should train managers, stuff reminders in employees' paychecks and review the law periodically. ``A little old-fashioned book learning isn't going to hurt,'' says Penny Phillips, an attorney at Felhaber Larson Felon& Vogt in the Twin Cities.

The National Partnership for Women and Families -which helped write the current law - knows business groups will fight any expansion. That's why the partnership is proposing family leave insurance for employers. ``We're looking at ways to make family leave affordable and spread out the risk,'' says spokeswoman Lauren Asher.

The group's Web site has a useful consumer guide to the law at www.nationalpartnership.org.

Any volunteers?

Spring sports season means parents must coach teams, make phone calls and still serve in the schools. Consider these tips for convincing working parents to volunteer:

Hit people's pocketbook. ``Some clubs are making parents pay $50 at registration. If they don't fulfill their commitment to volunteer, they don't get their money back,'' says Kathy Kacher, a business owner and parent who directs the girls' and boys' traveling soccer programs in Burnsville.

Tailor work to parents' time and talents. Dr. Bill Bjorum, principal at Hillcrest Elementary in Bloomington, says one deskbound mother coordinates the school's volunteer activities by phone. Other parents read to students, serve lunch or display their artwork.

``Every class sends out a monthly notice on how parents can be involved,'' Bjorum says. ``We have a high expectation.''

More on Mother's Day

Working mothers aren't just stressed out and overburdened, as I reported in a Mother's Day column. They're scared about the future being created for their kids.

``It would be interesting to see, in six months or a year, whether there is an exodus of women back to the home or whether there are lasting changes in people's time division between work and family because of Littleton,'' says Jane Telleen, assistant vice president for university relations at Hamline University in St. Paul. ``I predict there will be.''

Briefly ...