Party politics and family policy - The case of the Family and Medical Leave Act

The Family and Medical Leave Act offers an excellent case study of a family policy that became embroiled in partisan conflict. The Democratic authors of the bill proposed an extensive leave period available to most workers. Arguing that the policy would pose hardships for businesses, Republicans severely diluted the original legislation, reducing the leave period and eliminating many workers from coverage. The resulting bill offered less support to working parents than leave policies in most other countries. The article opens with a description of problematic features of the bill that derive from partisan politics and then places the drafting of the bill in historical context. The story of the bill's passage is then discussed, highlighting the role of parties and interest groups, especially business organizations. The article concludes by providing a larger analysis of the leave debate.