Nearly every legislative session since 2011, a Republican legislator has introduced legislation to attack our strong Wisconsin Family and Medical Leave Act. Each and every time, Wisconsin’s working men and women have sounded the alarm, resulting in no changes to Wisconsin’s FMLA. This legislative session proves to be no different. Late last week, Senator Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) and Representative Joan Ballweg (R-Markesan) circulated draft legislation, LRB 2015, that would significantly weaken and gut Wisconsin’s FMLA. This draft legislation could be introduced any day.
Wisconsin was one of the first states to pass a Family and Medical Leave Act in 1988. The federal government followed Wisconsin’s lead when it passed the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act in 1993. For the last 29 years, Wisconsin’s Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) has strengthened families by providing Wisconsin’s workers with more protections than its federal counterpart.