Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2020
Abstract
This article analyzes the small business exemption codified in the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA), which limits coverage to employers with fifty or more employees and thereby excludes a substantial portion of the American workforce from job-protected leave. Situating the FMLA within the broader landscape of federal employment legislation, the author examines the legislative history that led Congress to adopt a significantly broader small business exemption than those found in comparable statutes such as Title VII and the ADA. The article demonstrates that political compromise—shaped by concerns about employer costs and small business burdens—produced a threshold that deviated from Congress’s prior trend of narrowing exemptions. It further evaluates the disparate approaches taken by states in crafting family and medical leave protections, highlighting resulting inequities in coverage and access. Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic and the temporary expansion of leave protections under emergency legislation, the article argues that the fifty-employee threshold is outdated and insufficient. It concludes by advocating for congressional reform to expand FMLA coverage and better align federal leave policy with contemporary workforce realities and family caregiving needs.
Recommended Citation
Lynn Ridgeway Zehrt, Why Fifty: An Analysis of the Small Business Exemption Codified in the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, 84 Alb. L. Rev. 275 (2020-2021).
