家庭假政策之評估研究－美國FMLA個案分析

Family Leave Policy Evaluation: A Case Study of the FMLA in the US

鄭麗嬌(Lee-Joy Cheng)

《中國行政評論》 12卷2期 (2003/03) Pp. 91-116

https://doi.org/10.6635/cpar.2003.12(2).05

摘要

美國遲至1993年8月始正式實施「家庭與醫療假法」(Family and Medicl Leave Act，簡稱FMLA)。該法的通過，無疑是1998年家庭支持法(Family Support Act，簡稱FMLA)實施以來，美國國會有關家庭政策最重大的立法，此一立法之旨意乃在提供合格員工因分娩、收養或家庭緊急醫療所無原則之假期。本文採綜合資料(Aggregate Data)分析法，針對實施迄今近十年的FMLA之成效予以評估。整體而言，本文發現FMLA除將私部門原有休假制度法制化外，雖有其部分介入效果，其中又以男性受益較女性爲大，惟與歐洲各國比較，美國FMLA之內涵仍有很大之改善空間，例如：休假天數不敷員工所無需、無給休假變相剝奪有經濟壓力員工的休假權益，以及適用範圍未能擴大至50人以下的工作單位等。最後，本文針對如何落實與深化FMLA之政策目標，俾縮小與各國有關家庭與醫療假法內涵之差距，提出數點政策性建議。

關鍵字

家庭與醫療假法 ； 家庭支持法 ； 父親假 ； 産假

並列摘要

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which was enacted by the US Congress and signed by former US President, Bill Clinton, finally went into effect in August 1993. The passage of this Act undoubtedly represented the most important piece of legislature on family policy to come under Congressional consideration since the previous Family Support Act of 1988. The sole purpose of the FMLA is to provide eligible employees with time away from work to care for newborn or adopted children, or to care for relatives, or themselves, suffering from medical problems.
This paper uses aggregate data to analyze the effects of the FMLA over the last ten years, and finds that the setting up of the family leave system within private organizations has generally proved to be quite a positive move, with the main benefits being felt by male employees, as opposed to their female counterparts. There is, however, still considerable room for improvement, for example: (ⅰ) the leave benefits are generally insufficient to meet the needs of the employees; (ⅱ) since the leave is unpaid leave, it essentially deprives employees of their right to take normal leave time off; and (ⅲ) the system is not applied to small firms with less than fifty employees. This paper concludes with some suggestions for the implementation and analysis of FMLA policy goals in an effort to minimize the differences between the systems adopted in the US and those used in the European countries.

並列關鍵字

Family and Medical Leave Act ； Family Support Act ； Paternity Leave ； Maternity Leave