Reviews of two areas that deserve greater attention from researchers are: the effects of leave on fellow employees, and the handling of intermittent leave. A second area deserving closer examination is the effect of the regulations covering intermittent leave, and in particular the requirement that intermittent leave be offered and tracked in intervals of no greater than an hour, regardless whether any advance warning was given.
In conclusion, much of the empirical research on the effects of the FMLA has focused on its effects on pregnant women and mothers with small children, but leave for pregnancy and child care is only one part of the picture. FMLA leave is more likely to be taken by employers to take care of their own maladies, but little research has been done on this area. The track record of the FMLA has been mixed. While it has clarified the rights of workers to leave, the labor market was moving on its own towards expanded leave. It is likely that, absent legislation, employers would have continued to expand access to leave for workers facing family emergencies. There is also reason to believe that FMLA, at least as currently administered, has aggravated absenteeism problems.
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