When Congress passed the Family and Medical leave act of 1993, it created family leave rights for many employees across America but not family leave insurance. Prior to that time, many employers offered employees the use of sick days or personal days when they had a family crisis or simply wanted to spend time at home with a newborn. However, there normally was no pay once the sick days ran out and the employers weren't obligated to allow you to use sick days, it was simply a benefit of working for them. There was no provision that you'd have a job waiting for you when you wanted to return. The company could deny you health insurance when you returned as well as remove you from your position.

The law required that employers with more than 50-employees must provide family leave for their employees. This statute still did not guarantee family leave insurance. It is unpaid security that you'll have a job when you return from caring for a family member, recovering from your own illness, taking care of personal matters at the deployment of a family member or caring for a new baby whether adopted or natural. The statute guarantees no employer of more than 50 people can deny your right to 12 weeks of family leave. It also gave the guarantee that you'll receive the same job or one equal in responsibility, pay and benefits. The act did not provide for family leave insurance.

Several states expanded on that act. The first step the many state took was to lower the minimum number of employees to make employers responsible for providing family leave. Maine requires private business with as few as 15 employees and governmental employers such as towns or cities with 25 or more employees to provide family leave. Minnesota allows new parents to take leave if the employer has more than 21 employees and Oregon set their numbers at 25 regardless of the reason for the family leave. Vermont requires employers with 10 or more employees to give family leave to parents and those employing 15 or more people must offer it to others eligible for family leave. Washington, Rhode Island and the District of Columbia also have a smaller minimum required number of employees.

Some of these same states and others expanded the terms for family leave. They included such things as doctor visits for family members and organ donor leave. They also included others besides immediate family care. In some states, in-law care or domestic partner care qualifies for family leave.
Several states, such as California, passed legislation that offered a paid leave to those who had to take family leave. This was true family leave insurance. The premium was treated much like that of unemployment or social security. Now, even though there had been job security prior to the passing of the state legislation, there was a paycheck during that troubled time. It is only a percentage of pay but it is true family leave insurance.

A bill for national family leave insurance in 2008 never passed. It was reintroduced as H.R.1723 - Family Leave Insurance Act of 2009 but at this writing is still dead in the water. Many people believe that this act may be more necessary than ever. The baby boomers are now getting older and their children find themselves in the dilemma of choosing between caring for an aging or dying parent and an income. New parents want time to bond and yet need money to maintain a roof over their heads. Will family leave insurance pass everywhere? No one knows the future of this act.