May 24, 1999

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May 24, 1999

PRESIDENT CLINTON AND VICE PRESIDENT GORE:
WORKING TO STRENGTHEN FAMILIES

“If you or any American has to choose between being a good parent and being successful in your careers, you have paid a terrible price, and so has your country.”

President Bill Clinton
May 23, 1999

Today, in a commencement speech at Grambling State University, President Clinton announced new steps to help Americans meet their responsibilities to their jobs and their families. The President's proposals include enabling states to make parental leave more affordable; allowing federal workers to use more sick leave to care for ill family members; and developing federal family-friendly workplace initiatives. He also released a new report that examines the “time crunch” that parents feel as they struggle to balance their responsibilities at home and at work.

Working to Make Parental Leave More Affordable. Today, President Clinton directed the Secretary of Labor to develop new regulations and model state legislation to enable states to develop innovative ways of using the Unemployment Insurance (UI) system to support parents who wish to take leave following the birth or adoption of a child. Several states have asked the Administration whether they could use the UI system for this purpose consistent with federal law. The new regulations will authorize expansion of the UI system to give states the ability to use unemployment insurance to assist new parents.

Enabling Federal Workers to Care for Family Members. In an effort to set an example for all employers, the President directed the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to revise its regulations to allow federal employees to use up to 12 weeks of accrued sick leave each year to care for a family member with a “serious health condition,” as defined under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Currently, the amount of sick leave that can be used to care for a family member who is ill is limited to 13 days each year for most federal employees.

Enabling Federal Workers to Care for Family Members. In an effort to set an example for all employers, the President directed the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to revise its regulations to allow federal employees to use up to 12 weeks of accrued sick leave each year to care for a family member with a “serious health condition,” as defined under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Currently, the amount of sick leave that can be used to care for a family member who is ill is limited to 13 days each year for most federal employees.

Helping Parents Balance Their Responsibilities at Home and at Work. In his balanced budget request, the President put forward a bold agenda to provide families with greater tools to meet their responsibilities at home and at work, including:

an initiative to make child care better, safer, and more affordable for working families;
a tripling of our investment in after-school programs;
a new tax credit to help Americans struggling with long-term care costs; and
proposals to expand FMLA law to cover more workers and allow leave for more parental activities.

May 24, 1999