[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 33, Number 16 (Monday, April 21, 1997)]
[Pages 516-517]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Memorandum on Expanded Family and Medical Leave Policies

April 11, 1997

Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies

Subject: Expanded Family and Medical Leave Policies

    I have strongly supported meeting Federal employees' family and 
medical leave needs through enactment of the Family and Medical Leave 
Act of 1993 (FMLA) and the Federal Employees Family Friendly Leave Act 
of 1994 (FEFFLA). However, Federal employees often have important family 
and medical needs that do not qualify for unpaid leave under the FMLA or 
sick leave under the FEFFLA. I ask you to take immediate action to 
assist Federal workers further in balancing the demands of work and 
family.
    Last year I proposed to expand the Family and Medical Leave Act of 
1993. My legislation would allow Federal and eligible private sector 
workers 24 hours of unpaid leave during any 12-month period to fulfill 
certain family obligations. Under the legislation, employees could use 
unpaid leave to participate in school activities directly related to the 
educational advancement of a child, including early childhood education 
activities; accompany children to routine medical and dental 
examinations; and tend to the needs of older relatives.
    In furtherance of my proposed policy, I ask that you take immediate 
action within existing statutory authorities to ensure that Federal 
employees may schedule and be granted up to 24 hours of leave without 
pay each year for the following activities:
      (1) School and Early Childhood Educational Activities--to allow 
      employees to participate in school activities directly related to 
      the educational advancement of a child. This would include parent-
      teacher conferences or meetings with child-care providers, 
      interviewing for a new school or child-care facility, or 
      participating in volunteer activities supporting the child's 
      educational advancement. In this memorandum, ``school'' refers to 
      an elementary school, secondary school, Head Start program, or a 
      child-care facility.
      (2) Routine Family Medical Purposes--to allow parents to accompany 
      children to routine medical or dental appointments, such as annual 
      checkups or vaccinations. Although these activities are not 
      currently covered by the FMLA, the FEFFLA does permit employees to 
      use up to 13 days of sick leave each year for such purposes. 
      Agencies should assure that employees are able to use up to 24 
      hours of leave without pay each year for these purposes in cases 
      when no additional sick leave is available to employees.
      (3) Elderly Relatives' Health or Care Needs--to allow employees to 
      accompany an elderly relative to routine medical or dental 
      appointments or other professional services related to the care of 
      the elderly relative, such as making arrangements for housing, 
      meals, phones, banking services, and other similar activities. 
      Although Federal employees can use unpaid leave or sick leave for 
      certain of these activities under the FMLA or FEFFLA, such as 
      caring for a parent with a serious health condition, agencies 
      should ensure employees can use up to 24 hours of unpaid time off 
      each year for this broader range of activities related to elderly 
      relatives' health or care needs.
    This new policy will assure that Federal employees can schedule and 
receive up to 24 hours away from the job each year for these family and 
medical circumstances. I also urge you to accommodate these employee 
needs as mission requirements permit, even when it is not possible for 
employees to anticipate or schedule leave in advance for these purposes. 
In addition, I ask that you support employees' requests to schedule paid 
time off--such as annual leave, compensatory time off, and credit hours 
under flexible work schedules--for these family activities when such 
leave is available to these em

[[Page 517]]

ployees. The Office of Personnel Management shall provide guidance to 
you on the implementation of this memorandum.
    I encourage you to use a partnership approach with your employees 
and their representatives in developing an effective program that 
balances the employees' needs to succeed both at work and at home. I ask 
agencies, unions, and management associations to continue to work 
together to assess and improve the use of family-friendly programs and 
to make certain that employees are aware of the expanded family and 
medical leave policy.
                                            William J. Clinton

Note: This memorandum was embargoed for release until 10:06 a.m. on 
April 12.