The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) is a United States labor law requiring covered employers to provide employees with job-protected, unpaid leave for qualified medical and family reasons. The FMLA was a major part of President Bill Clinton's first-term domestic agenda, and he signed it into law on February 5, 1993. The FMLA is administered by the Wage and Hour Division of the United States Department of Labor. The FMLA allows eligible employees to take up to 12 work weeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period to care for a new child, care for a seriously ill family member, or recover from a serious illness. The FMLA covers both public- and private-sector employees, but certain categories of employees, including elected officials and highly compensated employees, are excluded from the law or face certain limitations. In order to be eligible for FMLA leave, an employee must have worked for the employer for at least 12 months, have worked at least 1,250 hours over the past 12 months, and work for an employer with at least 50 employees within a 75-mile radius. Several states have passed laws providing additional family and medical leave protections for workers. Background Prior to the 1992 presidential election, a family medical leave act had been vetoed twice by President George H. W. Bush. After Bill Clinton won the 1992 election, a law protecting family medical leave became one of his major first-term domestic priorities. Rapid growth in the workforce, including a large number of women joining, suggested a necessary federal regulation that would support the working class who desired to raise a family and/or required time off for illness-related situations. President Clinton signed the bill into law on February 5, 1993 (codified under , , and ) with the enforcement of the bill to start six months later on August 5, 1993. The United States Congress passed the Act with the understanding that “it is important for the development of children and the family unit that fathers and mothers be able to participate in early childrearing … [and] the lack of employment policies to accommodate working parents can force individuals to choose between job security and parenting”. It also stressed the Act was intended to provide leave protection for individuals “in a manner that accommodates the legitimate interests of employers”. On December 20, 2019, as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)