Both candidates' specifics on FMLA are pretty good compared to where we are right now.

[More Than A Feeling]

This is from Obama's website, but Hillary's plan is some of the same. The differences that she would set a deadline of 2016 for all states to have a leave system in place (but 43 states already do anyway, so that isn't that big a deal), and he has those expanded purposes, which I didn't see in her announcement (which is here: http://www.hillaryclinton.com/news/release/view/?id=3743).

Expand Paid Sick Days: Half of all private sector workers have no paid sick days and the problem is worse for employees in low-paying jobs, where less than a quarter receive any paid sick days. Barack Obama will require that employers provide seven paid sick days per year.

Expand the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA): The FMLA covers only certain employees of employers with 50 or more employees. Barack Obama will expand the FMLA to cover businesses with 25 or more employees. Barack Obama will expand the FMLA to cover more purposes as well, including allowing workers to take leave for elder care needs; allowing parents up to 24 hours of leave each year to participate in their children's academic activities at school; allowing leave to be taken for purposes of caring for individuals who reside in their home for 6 months or more; and expanding FMLA to cover leave for employees to address domestic violence and sexual assault.

Encourage States to Adopt Paid Leave: As president, Barack Obama will initiate a 50 state strategy to encourage all of the states to adopt paid-leave systems. Obama will provide a $1.5 billion fund to assist states with start-up costs and to help states offset the costs for employees and employers.

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/family/

What would be really nice is if he explicitly said that he would include the flu in "major health conditions" that are allowable leave purposes, or otherwise include it. We seriously want parents to have to choose between losing their jobs and leaving their flu-ridden child alone at home? Really?

Also, a week of paid sick leave is a nice start, but the more paid sick leave we offer, the more regular people can afford to actually use it.