Most working people in the United States do not have access to paid family or medical leave. Just 13 percent of workers in the country have access to paid family leave through an employer, and fewer than 40 percent have access to personal medical leave through an employer’s short-term disability insurance program. Only half of mothers take any paid time off in connection with the birth of their first child. Nearly one-quarter of mothers return to work within two weeks of giving birth. And when family caregivers have to leave their paying jobs to provide care, they lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in income and retirement savings.
Yet the benefits of ensuring people have access to paid family and medical leave are numerous and compelling. When women have access to paid maternity leave, they are more likely to be employed and to be paid higher wages in the year after their child’s birth, and their children are more likely to be breastfed and to have had check-ups and immunizations. When mothers or fathers have paid leave, they are less likely to rely on public assistance in the year after a child’s birth. And people who are sick are able to recover faster when paid leave is available to either them or their caregivers.
A national paid family and medical leave standard ensures all workers get the support they need – no matter where they live or work!
The following analysis of leave policies and economic and health data at the state level shows that every state is in need of more family-friendly workplace policies. The findings reveal that a few states have established paid family and medical leave laws, and some have adopted paid sickdays laws or more expansive unpaid leave laws, but most have failed to take any meaningful action to support working families – and the people most in need of the benefits paid leave providers are the ones who live in states that do not guarantee access to it. A national paid family and medical leave standard that ensures all workers get the support they need – no matter where they live or work – is critical.
Read the full report: A National Imperative: State Disparities Demonstrate Urgent Need for Federal Paid Family and Medical Leave Law
