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The United States and the island nation of Papua New Guinea are unique as the only two countries that do not guarantee paid time off for new moms to care for their infants. Six states and the District of Columbia mandate at least partial compensation for parents on maternity leave, but no federal law guarantees it.
The Family Medical and Leave Act, passed in 1993, mandates 12 weeks of unpaid leave for full-time employees at companies that have 50 people or more. And President Obama has said that he
supports
paid maternity leave and is pushing Congress to pass legislation granting it to families.
But 40 percent of American workers are not covered by the act—including many public employees.
“It’s slightly hypocritical to tell the private sector they need to pay maternity and paternity leave, but the federal government itself doesn’t offer that,” said Claire Prestwood, a teacher who is not covered by that law.
The lack of a nation-wide policy contrasts with most other countries. In Sweden, both parents receive 480 days off for each child they have, for up to 80 percent of their salary. Mongolian workers receive 17 weeks of maternity leave for 70 percent of their salary.
Some businesses argue that they cannot afford to pay people who are not working. Economist Jeffrey Miron argues that policies like paid maternity leave should be left up to individual businesses, who will not attract and keep talented workers if they don’t offer good benefits.
But paid leave actually benefits the economy by encouraging employees to return to work after having a baby, economist Christopher Ruhm said. Google recently lengthened their paid maternity leave policy to 18 weeks, causing 50 percent more new moms to stay with the company.
Warm up questions
- How do you think adults handle balancing the birth of a child and their job?
- Examine the first chart above. Are you surprised by the numbers? Do you think some countries give too much leave? Explain your thought process.
Critical thinking questions
- Imagine that you are a new parent, what kind of leave would you want and how much? Explain your answer.
- Pretend that you are the owner of a medium sized moderately wealthy business (more than 50 employees). What kind of leave, if any, would you be willing to provide to your employees upon the birth of a child? Defend your reasoning.
- Should the federal government require businesses to provide family leave to their employees?
- Do you see any patterns in the chart to the right? Why do you think some countries provide paid leave and others don’t? Specifically, think about the United States and why they don’t provide paid leave for new mothers.
