In 1993, Congress passed the Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA") to "balance the demands of the workplace with the needs of families." Recognizing that many employees had to choose between parenting or caregiving and job security, Congress sought to enable employees to take "reasonable leave" for medical reasons, for the birth or adoption of a child, and for the care of a child, spouse, or parent with a serious health condition. When the FMLA was enacted, it supplemented approximately 30 state statutes that provided some form of family and medical leave to employees who worked in those states. Congress did not intend to preempt these laws. Rather, Congress wanted to establish minimum standards for the availability of family and medical leave, particularly in states that did not have statutes extending such leave to their employees. Congress understood that more favorable leave benefits could be available under some state laws. Thus, section 401(b) of the FMLA indicates that nothing in the federal law "shall be construed to supersede any provision of any State or local law that provides greater family or medical leave rights than the rights established under [the FMLA]." Although the FMLA and state family and medical leave laws are generally similar with regard to the availability of leave, they differ both in terms of coverage and scope. For example, under the FMLA and many of the state family and medical leave statutes and regulations, only certain employers are required to provide leave to their employees. The FMLA applies only to employers engaged in commerce or in an industry affecting commerce that have at least 50 employees who are employed for each working day during each of 20 or more calendar workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year. In contrast, the state family and medical leave laws vary with regard to the number of employees who must be employed by an employer before it becomes subject to a law. The FMLA and state family and medical leave laws also differ with regard to scope. Section 102(a)(1) of the FMLA provides for a total of 12 workweeks of leave during any 12-month period for one or more of the following reasons: (1) Because of the birth of a son or daughter of the employee and in order to care for such son or daughter; (2) Because of the placement of a son or daughter with the employee for adoption or foster care; (3) In order to care for the spouse, or a son, daughter, or parent, of the employee, if such spouse, son, daughter, or parent has a serious health condition; (4) Because of a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the functions of the position of such employee. In contrast, some state laws permit leave for reasons other than pregnancy, adoption, or a serious health condition. Forty-five states and the District of Columbia now appear to have family and medical leave laws. The following section provides citations and brief descriptions of the relevant laws. Many of the laws identified in this section govern state government employers. Title II of the FMLA amended the U. S. Code to add family and medical leave provisions to title 5 of the Code, the title that governs employees in the federal government. Under the Federal Employees Family Friendly Leave Act, federal employees are also entitled to use sick leave to care for a family member with an illness or injury, to make funeral arrangements for a family member, and to attend the funeral of a family member. Ala. Code § 36-27-58 (2007): An Employees' Retirement System member may purchase up to one year's service credit in the system for any period of time while he or she is on maternity leave without pay. Ala. Code § 16-1-18.1 (2007) and Ala. Admin. Code r. 670-X-14-.01 (2007): State employees may take sick leave for personal illness, to care for a sick family member, for incapacitating personal injury, for the death of a family member, or for the death or serious illness of a non-family member with strong personal ties to the employee. Employees may accumulate an unlimited amount of sick leave at the rate of one day of leave per month of employment, and sick leave days may be transferred between employees. In case of serious illness, a permanent employee may be advanced an additional 24 days of sick leave. Alaska Stat. § 39.20.305 (2007): An officer or employee of the state who is otherwise qualified to take leave of absence may take family leave because of a serious health condition for a total of 18 workweeks during any 24-month period. An otherwise qualified officer or employee may take family leave because of pregnancy and childbirth or adoption for a total of 18 workweeks within a 12-month period. An eligible employee may take family leave for the birth or adoption of a child, to care for a child, spouse or parent with a serious health condition, or because of the employee's own health condition. Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 41-783 (2007): Personnel rules shall provide for the transfer of accumulated annual leave (1) between state employees in the same agency, or (2) between state employees in different agencies if the employees are members of the same family. Such transfers may occur if the employee to whom the leave is transferred has a seriously incapacitating and extended illness or a seriously incapacitating and extended disability that is caused by pregnancy or childbirth or a member of the employee's immediate family has a seriously incapacitating and extended illness or injury or a seriously incapacitating and extended disability that is caused by pregnancy or childbirth and the employee has exhausted all available leave balances. Ariz. Admin. Code § 2-5-404 (2007): A state employee may take sick leave for personal illness or for the illness of the employee's spouse, child, or parent. Sick leave may also be taken for a disability caused by pregnancy, childbirth, miscarriage, or abortion. Ariz. Admin. Code § 2-5-411 (2007): With regard to state employees, "parental leave" means any combination of annual leave, sick leave, compensatory leave, or leave without pay taken by an employee due to pregnancy, childbirth, miscarriage, abortion, or adoption of children. Parental leave shall not exceed 12 weeks. An agency shall not require an employee to exhaust all annual leave, sick leave, or compensatory leave before taking leave without pay. Ark. Code Ann. § 21-4-209 (2007): For public employees, maternity leave shall be treated as any other leave for sickness or disability. Accumulated sick leave and annual leave, if requested by the employee, shall be granted for maternity use, after which leave without pay may be used. Ark. Code Ann. § 21-4-210 (2007): Public employees may be granted up to 6 months leave without pay for maternity and sick leave. Ark. Code Ann. § 21-4-215 (2007): Public employees are entitled to up to 7 days leave to serve as a bone marrow donor and up to 30 days leave to serve as an organ donor. Cal. Gov ' t Code § 12945 (2007): Public employers and private employers with 5 or more employees must provide reasonable accommodations for conditions related to pregnancy and must allow an employee disabled by pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions to take up to 4 months of leave and return to work. Cal. Gov ' t Code § 12945.2 (2007): Public employees and private employees in organizations with 5 or more workers who have more than 12 months of service and with at least 1,250 hours of service during the previous 12-month period must be allowed up to a total of 12 workweeks in any 12-month period for family care and medical leave. "Family care and medical leave" means any of the following: (1) leave for the birth of a child, the placement of a child with an employee for adoption or foster care, or the serious health condition of a child of the employee; (2) leave to care for a parent or a spouse who has a serious health condition; or (3) leave because of an employee's own serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the functions of the position of that employee, except for leave taken for disability on account of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. Cal. Gov ' t Code §§ 19991.6 and 19991.11 (2007): State employees are entitled to a year of leave without pay for pregnancy, 30 days leave with pay to be an organ donor, and 5 days leave without pay to be a bone marrow donor. Cal. Lab. Code §§ 230.7 and 230.8 (2007): No employer who employs 25 or more employees working at the same location shall discharge or in any way discriminate against an employee who is a parent, guardian, or grandparent having custody of one or more children in kindergarten or grades 1 to 12, inclusive, or in a licensed child day care facility, for taking off up to 40 hours each year, not exceeding 8 hours in any calendar month, to participate in activities of the school or licensed child day care facility of any of his or her children or grandchildren. Cal. Lab. Code § 233 (2007): Any employer who provides sick leave must allow sick leave to be used to attend to the illness of a child, spouse, parent, or domestic partner of the employee. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 19-5-211 (2007): An employer who permits paternity or maternity time off for the birth of a child must allow equal time off for the adoption of a child. If the employer has established a policy providing time off for biological parents, that period of time shall be the minimum period of leave available for adoptive parents.