No paid leave for new moms
Economic Snapshot for May 6, 2009
No paid leave for new U.S. moms
by Elise Gould
This Mother’s Day we reflect on the critical but often overlooked issue of maternity leave. Among peer countries with comparable per capita income (i.e., those in the G7), the United States provides the fewest mandated maternity leave benefits in both length of leave and amount of paid time off (see chart).
It wasn’t until 1993 that the United States passed the Family and Medical Leave Act, giving eligible parents 12 weeks unpaid leave to care for a new child. But not only is the leave unpaid, it is also only mandated for workplaces of more than 50 employees. The United States is the only country among its peers that does not guarantee some amount of leave with pay.1
![[figure]](/page/-/img/20090506snapshot.jpg "[figure]")
Note
1) In 2005, California enacted the California Family Rights Act, a paid leave statute that covers maternity leave.
Look for more comparisons between the United States and its global peers in the upcoming The State of Working America 2008/2009, which will be released this month by the Economic Policy Institute.
Sign Up to Stay Informed
Search EPI sites
More Snapshots
- Immigration helps boost relative wages of U.S.-born workers at all levels of education
- Worst economic crisis since the Great Depression? By a long shot.
- The Corrosive Effects of Inequality on Health
- Private sources of spending cannot sustain job growth
- Layoffs moderating, but hiring not yet picking up
- Many children left behind
- High unemployment: A fact of life for American Indians
- Calling in sick not an option for most low-paid workers
- State and local budget shortfalls will cause heavy drag on growth
- Jobs creation effort needs to focus on good jobs
- Minorities, less-educated workers see staggering rates of underemployment
- Money to spare for health care
- Highest earners get biggest tax breaks for saving for retirement
- Public health insurance offsets large losses in private coverage
- Most black children grow up in neighborhoods with significant poverty
- Lost investment during a recession can prolong pain
- Trade agreement favors pharmaceutical companies over sick
- Americans agree on how to fix Social Security
- Big banks getting bigger
- This Labor Day, wage erosion continues to hurt employed workers
- More...
