Labor Department officials said on Thursday that they had proposed new regulations that address some corporate complaints that workers are abusing the Family and Medical Leave Act. Under the proposals, workers would generally have to call in to request a leave before taking it; currently, employees can take off for two days before requesting a leave. The Family and Medical Leave Act gives employees at workplaces with 50 or more workers the right to take up to 12 unpaid weeks a year to cope with their own serious health conditions or to care for a newborn, a newly adopted child or a seriously ill child, spouse or parent.
See "Labor Dept. Working on Changes for Families Coping With Illness and Military Duty", Steven Greenhouse, The New York Times, January 24, 2008