House OKs family leave legislation

WASHINGTON — The House voted Thursday to require employers to give workers up to three months unpaid leave for family emergencies, ignoring a threatened veto and opponents who said the bill would help only “yuppie” workers who can afford to forgo paychecks.

The House voted 237-187 to approve the family and medical leave act and sent it to the Senate.

The vote, while a victory for its bipartisan supporters, was well short of what would be needed to override a presidential veto.

Both Rep. Olympia J. Snowe, R-Maine, and Rep. Joseph E. Brennan, D-Maine, voted for the legislation.

Though the bill had the backing of the House Democratic leadership, 54 Democrats sided with business groups that opposed the bill. Thirty-nine Republicans supported the bill.

The bill is strongly opposed by the Bush administration and faces a contentious and uncertain future in the Senate.

Alixe Glen, a deputy White House press secretary, called the House vote “pretty close” and said President Bush was holding fast to his position.

“He fully supports and encourages flexible family leave policies by all employers, but feels that should not be dictated by a Washington mandate,” she said.

The Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee approved a similar bill more than a year ago, but sponsors have yet to schedule floor action. None was expected before Memorial Day.

The measure would require business and government employers to provide workers with up to 12 weeks of unpaid medical leave or leave for the care of a new child or ill child, parent or spouse.

It exempts businesses with fewer than 50 workers.

Employers would have to continue health insurance benefits for those on leave and restore a returning employee to his or her previous job or an equivalent position.