Having faced a set-back on the issue in October, Congress continues to pursue an amendment to the Family and Medical Leave Act that would grant eligible relatives of wounded service members the right to take up to twenty-six weeks of job-protected leave during a twelve-month period to care for the service member. Originally introduced as a stand-alone bill (S. 1975), the proposed amendment to the FMLA was incorporated earlier this year into a bill to reauthorize the Children’s Heath Insurance Program. That measure was adopted by both the House and the Senate, but was vetoed by President Bush on October 3, 2007.

The proposed FMLA amendment resurfaced on December 6, 2007, when it was included in a Department of Defense appropriations bill (H.R. 1585) as reported out of a joint conference committee. The House and the Senate are expected to address the appropriations bill this week. If enacted, the measure would give the spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin of a wounded member of the U. S. Armed Forces the right to take up to twenty-six weeks of leave in a single twelve-month period to care for the service member. The leave right would apply to employees who constitute “eligible employees” under the FMLA, and leave taken to care for a wounded service member would count against an employee’s entitlement to up to twelve weeks of leave for other FMLA-qualifying reasons.