The Family Medical Leave Act was passed by Congress in 1993 to provide a national policy that supports families in their efforts to balance the competing demands of work and family.

To qualify for the maximum 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave each year, an employee must:

• Have worked for at least one year, and for 1,250 hours in the previous 12 months.
• Work for a company with more than 50 employees, all working within a 75- mile radius of the work-site.

Leave can be taken for the following reasons:

• To care for a newborn, newly-adopted or foster child.
• To care for a child, spouse or parent with a serious health condition.
• For the employee's own serious health condition, including maternity-related disability.

Trends in Paternity Leaves

The birth of a child is, for most couples, the most significant event in their lives. And, of course, the physical and emotional attention a new baby receives from each parent in his or her first few weeks is critical. Most child-rearing experts say the more involved fathers as well as mothers are in their baby's daily life, the smarter, happier and healthier their child will be.

But, for many fathers, the time for bonding with a newborn is cut short by the need to return to work.

It's been almost a decade since the passage of the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which guaranteed 12 weeks of unpaid time off to both moms and dads following the birth or adoption of a child. But paternity leave has yet to become a truly "popular" benefit for most fathers.

Why is that? Maybe it's because some dads are happy to get back to their workplaces to escape endless diaper changes.

But the reasons many dads cite are a lack of awareness that their companies offer any kind of paternity leave (only 58 percent of workers whose jobs were covered under the FMLA actually knew about it, a government study recently found), concern about their career advancement, and, most important, the cost of unpaid leave to a family. With a new mouth to feed, it's hard to justify unpaid time off for most families.

Only about 14 percent of U.S. businesses implement paid paternity leave policies. Instead, most companies covered by the FMLA rules (see sidebar) offer the federally mandated 12 weeks of unpaid time off.

So, despite much touted support for paternity leave, relatively few fathers in the workplace are actually taking advantage of the benefit. That may be contributing to the perception by employers that there isn't really that much demand for the benefit.

Even British Prime Minister Tony Blair took only a fraction of the 13 weeks of leave he was entitled to by law upon the birth of his fourth child. And this, despite the pressure of the London Tabloids and his own wife's request that he set an example for fathers in Great Britain.

In reality, though, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that new parents, both male and female, would like their companies to offer paternity leave, and will use it in the future. More working fathers than ever before are ranking family above career in their lives and are seeking those kinds of benefits when considering a job. Some two-thirds of fathers say they are willing to trade part of their pay for more time with the baby.

In fact, a recent online survey of 3,400 new fathers found that the majority, 61 percent, did find a way to spend at least some time at home regardless of their company's paternity leave policy, cobbling together vacation and personal time instead of an official paternity leave - though most reported their time off was less than two weeks.

Most employers also agree with the concept of a paternity leave, believing that adding a paternity leave policy has a positive effect on the workplace. To begin with, it's a smart move for retaining good workers. A Families and Work Institute study of more than 1,000 companies showed that 42 percent of employers felt such family-friendly leave benefits offered a positive return on investment. Another 42 percent felt the leave programs didn't really cost them anything - were "cost-neutral."

The Institute also reported that such benefits can have a substantial effect on morale, worker productivity and reduced absenteeism.

"Paternity leave also promotes strong family relationships, which most employers support," said Gail Jern, Human Resources Representative for Westaff. "Most companies want their employees to have a balanced life between home and work."

For those companies that have or are considering adding paid or unpaid paternity leaves, the services of a staffing company can help fill a new dad's work shoes while he's at home enjoying his baby's first few weeks, and offering his wife some needed assistance and rest.

"Companies like ours are willing and able to provide temporary employees for any length of paternity leave," said Westaff Benefits Manager Sharon Calvert. "It's something we often do. It works out well for employers, who end up with happier, more loyal employees, and for families that need that special time together."