Millions of US workers are suffering from damaged health, drained finances, and shrinking career prospects because federal law lacks any guaranteed paid family leave. Businesses are also losing out on the benefits of a national paid leave program, including increased productivity and reduced turnover costs. Sure, the Family and Medical Leave Act enables some workers with newborn or adopted children or family members with serious medical conditions to take unpaid leave. A good option, but one many families can’t afford. Only 12 percent of private industry workers have paid family leave.
The US is alone among developed countries in failing to guarantee at least some form of paid family leave. Out of 185 countries covered in a 2014 International Labour Organization report on maternity and paternity leave, only two countries lack paid maternity leave under law: the United States and Papua New Guinea. At least 70 countries guarantee paid paternity leave. Many countries also have other forms of family leave insurance. Paid family leave is increasingly funded through social insurance – not directly by employers.
A bill introduced in the US Senate this week could make a huge difference for working families. The Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act would create a national paid family and medical leave system. Modeled after several successful state family leave insurance programs, this bill would enable workers to receive partial pay (66 percent of wages, to a cap) for up to 12 weeks of leave to care for new children or seriously ill family members, or to deal with their own serious health conditions. The program would be funded by small payroll contributions, amounting to about $1.50 per week.
A 2011 Human Rights Watch report (updated in 2015) analyzed the harms of the lack of paid family leave in the US, especially for parents. In dozens of interviews, parents recounted how unpaid leave after childbirth or adoption contributed to delaying immunizations and health visits for babies, postpartum depression, and other health problems. During unpaid leave, many went into debt, and some resorted to welfare and bankruptcy. The FAMILY Act would do a lot to avert these problems.
The rest of the world has figured out that paid family leave is good for business, families, and economic growth. It’s time for the US to get on board.
