Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) is working to amend the Family and Medical Leave Act so that it will provide for at least six weeks of paid leave. Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) is signing on to Dodd's bill as a co-sponsor.
A recent study adds to the extensive documentation which finds that the United States is one of the worst nations in the world when it comes to providing essential support for the care of families. As is often the case, when it comes to such measures the standing of the U.S. is inferior to many so-called third world, or poor, countries.
Reuters reports on a study that points to the U.S. as one of five countries which fail to guarantee even a minimum level of paid maternity leave:
In a study from McGill University's Institute for Health and Social Policy, the United States, Lesotho, Liberia, Swaziland, and Papua New Guinea were the only countries out of 173 studied that didn't guarantee any paid leave for mothers. Among the 168 countries that do, 98 offer 14 or more weeks of paid leave.
Overall, the study's other major findings indicate that workplace policies in the United States for families -- such as paid sick days and support for breast-feeding -- are weaker than those in all high-income countries as well as many middle and low-income countries. . .
Under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, U.S. workers are allowed to take up to 12 weeks leave for to tend to family or medical needs, but their absence is unpaid. States are beginning to take more of an initiative on this front, human-resources experts say. For example, California has passed legislation for paid family leave -- called the State Disability Insurance Program, which entitles employees a maximum of six weeks of partial pay per year to care for a newborn or other family matters. . .
The United States also lags behind in protecting working women's right to breastfeed. At least 107 countries grant women the right to breastfeed, and in 73 of those countries, the breaks are paid, the study found. The United States does not have any protections in place for women who want to breastfeed.
Speaker Pelosi Paid Family Leave Politics News Feminist Family Policy Chris Dodd Democrats Care Crisis
