Family Leave

Helping Breadwinners When It Can’t Wait; A Progressive Program for Family Leave Insurance

Unlike every other developed nation, the U.S. government does not require that workers have access to paid leave for the birth of a child or to care for a seriously ill family member. To solve this problem and provide paid family and medical leave to nearly every working American, we could add family and medical leave to the Social Security system with very minimal cost, according to this report from the Center for American Progress.

Paid Leave in the States: A Critical Support for Low-wage Workers and Their Families

Millions of families struggle to juggle work and family responsibilities. Low-wage workers can find this balancing act especially difficult since they are more likely to work in jobs with few benefits and limited flexibility. This brief, from the National Center for Children in Poverty, examines existing state paid leave policies and concludes with recommendations for state policymakers.

Paid maternity leave still on the wishlist for many U.S. mothers

In a selection of 19 countries with comparable per capita income, the United States provides the fewest maternity leave benefits in both length of leave and paid time off (see chart). This is considered separate from any disability insurance for which one may qualify. In fact, the United States falls two weeks short of the International Labor Organization's basic minimum standard of at least 14 weeks general leave. It is also the only country not to guarantee some amount of leave with income.