Family Leave

WASHINGTON - A divided U.S. Supreme Court struck down yesterday a federal rule that penalized employers for failing to inform workers of their rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act. The Labor Department rule was aimed at employers who don't tell workers on leave that the time will count against the 12 weeks of guaranteed leave under federal law. The rule gave those employees an additional 12 weeks off. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, writing for...

One woman wrote to say she was fired while on a leave of absence to care for her severely ill toddler -- and then denied unemployment compensation because she supposedly had chosen to stay at home with her children.One man said he would lose $97 every day he missed work to care for a son born with hydrocephalus and a hole in his heart. One woman said that by mid-year she had used up all her sick days because of her child's repeated illnesses and would be fired the next time she called in sick.

BRAZDA, Macedonia -- At a makeshift school in a refugee camp, it was 5-year-old Jeton Hasani's turn to tell his story of what happened in Kosovo.With the teacher at his side, Jeton started to talk in a matter-of-fact tone."

He's arranged seating for confirmations and weddings because warring parents couldn't agree on who would sit where. He's thrilled and disappointed thousands of adults in decisions on child custody and support. In nearly two decades on the bench, Judge James C. Cawood Jr. has presided over the dissolution of countless failed relationships, and he's patiently dealt with the couples who return to his courtroom year after year. "When a case comes in, everybody loves you. When they keep coming back, at least one of them doesn't love you," Cawood said with characteristically dry wit. At 65, Cawood, considered the grandfather of family law matters in the county and an expert in the field throughout the state, is leaving the Anne Arundel County Circuit Court bench.

You might think Susan Smith is the kind of executive who would be the most worried about Congress' rush to pass a family leave law. You would be wrong."

WASHINGTON - Forcefully rejecting stereotypes about the roles of men and women as caregivers, the Supreme Court refused yesterday to exempt states from a federal law that authorizes employees to sue for back pay if they are denied a leave of absence to care for a sick family member. In an opinion by Chief Justice William Rehnquist, the court turned away arguments by Nevada officials that states were immune from lawsuits by employees under the Family and Medical Leave Act. The court said that the law was passed to address historic gender bias in granting leave for family emergencies and that Congress' strong interest in addressing sex discrimination trumps any states' rights concerns.

Heliodoro Bravo worked so hard for so long that, when he dropped dead two weeks ago at age 39, what his wife did made sense to their friends: she kept the family restaurant open and kept working.No time off for a funeral. Only a few scattered hours to mourn. She says she could not even spare the days or money to accompany his body to Mexico, where her husband's parents had a service and burial. "We have always had to go forward, to support the family," says Filomena Bravo, 41. "We always work and work, because we have to pay the bills.

WASHINGTON -- As potential Senate candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton narrows her house-hunting search to the tony New York City suburbs of Westchester County, the question of exactly which multimillion-dollar estate she will choose is upstaging another, equally crucial detail: How on earth will she pay for it?The Clintons, the presidential couple with the highest legal debts in history, initially took an interest in properties approaching $4 million, with horse pastures and winding private driveways that keep the riffraff away.

Another little piece of Baltimore will die this week when American Joe's Bar closes.Oh, the doors of the corner tavern will open again -- as Harry's American Bar -- but it won't be the same.The Canton landmark -- a family-owned business on the Northeast corner of South Luzerne and Foster Avenues -- will fade into the history of this city Friday, going the way of the shipyards, manufacturers and canneries that once fueled the economy of Southeast Baltimore.In this case, the owners, Frank and Frances Miedusiewski, are retiring after spending the past 47 years running the tavern that was founded as a malt and hops bar in 1923, during Prohibition.

At exactly noon yesterday, Lester Jenkins turned his rented U-Haul away from the blue-painted rowhouse where he had lived the past 14 years and left Leo Street behind, without a tear or a glance back. "Goodbye to the past," he said, passing three oil tank farms and a herbicide factory.Four minutes later, the 45-year-old plumber parked in front of his new home and said hello to his future: a well-maintained, two-bedroom rowhouse in Brooklyn, less than two miles west."This new world is beautiful, ain't it?"