It's been more than 20 years since passage of the landmark Family and Medical Leave Act, which allows workers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid time off for medical or family reasons without losing their jobs.
Some workers' advocates and politicians say it's time to plug a big hole in the law by requiring that workers get paid while they're on leave. But the change faces stiff opposition from some small business and other groups that argue that it would be too expensive and an unnecessary government intrusion.
Saying the reality for many families is that both parents must work, President Obama has pushed for paid family leave, calling it an "economic necessity" in his State of the Union address. He proposed $2.2 billion in next year's federal budget to help five states get paid leave programs up and running, and an additional $35 million for states to conduct planning and startup activities.
[For more of this story, written by Michelle Andrews, go to http://www.npr.org/blogs/healt...nd-family-leave-paid]
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