It’s Mat Leave Monday! Last week I discussed maternity leave in the United States through the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). This week I’m following up by discussing maternity leave regulations in two US states, as well as proposed federal legislation, which provide for paid maternity and parental leave.
As I discussed last week, not everyone qualifies for maternity leave under FMLA. And even for those who do, taking 12 weeks of unpaid leave may be impractical. This results in a rather awful situation where new parents are forced to return to work early, or lose job protection and benefits for taking time off. Two states have recognized the importance of good maternity leave, and have introduced their own plans for new parents. As always, I have no first-hand knowledge, so please visit my links for more detailed information.
California – The state of California offers several programs for new parents. In 2004 Paid Family Leave was introduced, allowing employees who pay into the State Disability Insurance Program to take up to 6 weeks off each year to bond with a new baby or care for an ill family member. Most workers receive 55% of their gross weekly income, to a maximum of $917 USD. Women who work for an employer with 5 or more employees may take up to 4 months of Pregnancy Disability Leave. This is job protected leave afforded to women who can’t work either due to complications of pregnancy, childbirth, or recovery from childbirth. Those who qualify for FMLA can also take an additional 12 weeks of job-protected leave under the California Family Rights Act. California also boasts programs that allow employees to use a portion of their accrued sick leave to care for family members, and take unpaid time off to participate in their childrens’ school activities.
New Jersey – Beginning in July of 2009 residents of New Jersey will be able to claim Family Leave Insurance. The program is similar to California’s paid family leave – those who are covered can take up to 6 weeks off each year to bond with a new baby or care for an ill family member. Workers receive 2/3 of their average weekly wage, up to a maximum of $546 USD.
Many other states have proposed, or implemented, other legislation to promote a good work-life balance and support new parents. The Progressive States Network outlines family-friendly state legislation. And California’s Paid Family Leave site has information about paid leave activity in other states.
And in January, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) introduced H.R. 626 – Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act of 2009. The proposed legislation provides for 4 weeks of paid parental leave for federal employees. The federal government is the largest employer in the US, with more than 1.8 million civilian employees. This means that their employment policies may set the trend for many other employers across the country. If you are a US citizen and would like to voice your support for H.R. 626 you can find a petition at MomsRising.
Compared to maternity leave programs offered by many other developed countries, 4 or 6 weeks of paid leave might not seem like much. I would argue it’s nowhere near enough. But it’s a start, and it’s certainly better than nothing. Here in Canada it took decades for our maternity leave system to evolve into what it is today, and so it will likely take some time for that to happen in the US as well. Hopefully, as more and more jurisdictions legislate paid maternity leave, attitudes will shift and policies will change. I think that American families deserve no less than that.
It is better than nothing, but they still have a long way to go. Living in Canada I just can’t imagine how new mothers cope with such a short leave. I was completely “out to lunch” at six weeks postpartum, nowhere near ready to go back to work!!
It must be really, REALLY hard to be a new mother in the USA. It’s truly apalling how little maternity leave they get. My heart goes out to those poor new moms.
I echo the above thoughts. I don’t know how new moms do it in the USA. I was an emotional mess at six weeks and with my first, struggling to breastfeed.
We get 52 weeks of job protection (the folly though as I got laid off while on maternity leave) and 50 weeks of employment pay. Men get up to six months partnerity leave so long as they start the leave before the baby’s first birthday. This may vary province to province.
It would be very cool if a first lady or michael moore took up the cause.
Yeah, no such luck here in the states; guys rarely get anything, and females usually only get 12 weeks.
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I’m afraid that fixing other economic crises are going to take priority at present and we’re not going to see much improvement in parental leaves in the US for a while. I still have hopes for the long term though.
The above commenters have really captured the issue. I live in the US and I’m fortunate to have 6 weeks paid leave through my employer. Because my husband isn’t working much right now, he’s going to stay home with the baby when I go back to work after the 6 weeks. I don’t have any other family nearby to help so it’s really up to us. I’m planning to move home (back to Canada!) next year, so we’ll be closer to family.
Ironic thing about the benefits, is that if I have a c-section, I’ll get 8 weeks off. I’m doing everything I can to avoid that despite the incentive…