Generous maternity plans were cut dramatically after this was passed in order to deal with the wider range of mandated issues.
It is unreasonable for an employer to be required to keep a job open for a year. That's painful, especially to a small business.
And I know plenty of women who take their leave (and their pay!) then quit to stay home with the new baby as soon as the FMLA is up.
If any employer wants to bestow generous maternity plans on his/her employees that's their prerogative. I cannot believe that anyone with a modicum of common sense would think that this "trifling nanny-state directive" (as shapka put it) was be good for either families, employees, employers or the economy. It's destructive, feel-good legislation for the nanny staters in the Blue States which hopefully will secede from the union as quickly as possible.