Sept 20, 2019
PL+US Action Fund’s Daria Dawson explains why paid leave isn’t only about new parents, but crucial for those with chronic illnesses.
On February 5, 1993, President Bill Clinton signed the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the legislation that allows employees unpaid leave for medical or family events. Only 13-years-old at the time, I had no idea what FMLA meant or why it seemed important. Furthermore, I had no idea of the endless significance of the legislation in my own life until three years later.
In 1996, when I was in the eleventh grade, I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory bowel disease that causes inflammation of the digestive tract, which can lead to abdominal pain, severe diarrhea, fatigue, weight loss and malnutrition.