In February 1993 Congress passed the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). It required businesses with 50 or more employees to grant up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave annually to workers to care for themselves or a sick family member or for the birth or adoption of a child. To qualify for FMLA leave, employees have to have worked for the company at least 12 months. However, companies could exclude certain high-ranking employees from being able to take this leave. If the leave could be predicted, such as for the expected birth of a child, the employees had to provide their employers with 30 days notice. The act guaranteed that workers who took FMLA leave would have a job when they were able to return to their companies. President Bill Clinton pushed for this legislation, which was passed shortly after his inauguration in January 1993. President George Bush had vetoed a similar bill.
