The US Takes Last Place: The Problem of Paid Parental Leave

By: Morgan Dreher

Edited by: Isabel Gortner

Imagine welcoming a child into the world, and having a year off of work to be with your baby, all while being paid. This concept sounds radical to many people in the United States but is conventional in most other industrialized nations. The United States is the only wealthy country in the world without a national program for paid parental leave, with only 21% of employees having access to this type of leave, [1] and 46% of employees not even having access to unpaid, job-protected parental leave. [2] These numbers are even more bleak for low-income families, with a mere 12% of low-income workers receiving paid leave. [3] Since low-income workers are already less likely to be able to afford unpaid time off, this gap in access to paid leave perpetuates issues of economic disparity. [4] Public opinion is clearly in support of paid parental leave, with 82% of Americans across political identifications supporting the concept. [5] Yet, the United States lags behind every other industrialized nation in this domain, and evidence shows we should be making an effort to catch up.

First, there are distinctions between different types of parental leave. While traditional maternity leave applies to a mother who gives birth, parental leave more broadly applies to any new parent, including adoptive and foster parents. While unpaid leave is self-explanatory, paid leave signifies compensation at a certain percentage of the employee’s typical wage, and can be accompanied by stipulations or waiting periods. Another significant factor is job protection, which is a guarantee that the parent will retain their job throughout their leave. Parental leave can exist as its own policy, or it can also fit under the umbrella of family leave. 

Paid parental leave has vast health benefits for parents and children alike. Research suggests that poor mental health is common for mothers after birth, and paid leave of at least two to three months protects against this issue significantly. [6] Leave also has significant health benefits for the child, such as extending the duration of breastfeeding, [7] and decreasing infant mortality rates. [8] Research also reveals the importance of providing parental leave rather than just maternity leave, as paid leave improves the mental health of fathers, [8] and “increases gender-equitable norms and leave uptake.” [9] It even benefits employers, “with positive effects towards worker productivity, morale, job satisfaction, and reduced job turnover.” [10]

So, what does current policy look like in the United States? The US has several programs in place, although they are far from measuring up to the national programs belonging to every other country in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). [11] The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) requires employers in the US to allow their employees 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected family leave during the first year after birth, adoption, or start of foster care – but this policy has several caveats. [12] For example, this only applies to companies with over 50 employees, and the parent must have worked 32 full-time weeks the year prior to their leave, meaning small businesses are exempt from compliance and new hires and part-time workers are not covered. [13] This leaves 40% of US employees ineligible, and another large portion who cannot afford an unpaid leave. [14] Since then, the Federal Employee Paid Leave Act, implemented in 2020, makes full-paid leave available to certain federal employees. [15][16] This is an extension of FMLA, and although Congress attempted to make eligibility criteria less strict in 2021, certain groups such as USPS employees remain ineligible. [17] 

In general, parental leave policies are notably more generous in every other OECD nation as well as EU countries. For example, according to an article by Baum II and Ruhm, “Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway, and Sweden provide at least 11 months of leave paid at more than two-thirds of earnings.” [18] Additionally, Switzerland offers 100% wage replacement for eight weeks of leave. [19] Sweden is particularly generous, with 480 days of paid leave per family. In this case, both parents are allotted 240 days but have the option to transfer up to 150 of those days to the other parent. [20] 

While these policies provide extensive leave, they are not free from issues, either. Offering leave to each parent is intended to encourage gender parity and fathers taking a larger role in caretaking, but the ability to transfer leave between spouses has proven counterproductive to this goal, with women taking the majority of the leave. [21] One reason for this is women seeking to continue breastfeeding, but gender norms also play a part in the continuity of these heteronormative roles. [22] As a result, women take significantly more leave than men, contributing to the wage gap and less female participation in the workforce. [23] Thus, policies like Sweden’s, which allot 90 “use it or lose it” days to each parent are effective in creating a “higher employment rate of women (78.0%) than the E.U average (6.7%).” [24] Another issue abroad has arisen with policy in China, where the extension of maternity leave has led to increased employment discrimination towards women. [25] Thus, while these generous policies are beneficial to families, their increased duration accentuates the importance of policies that encourage employment equity and participation of fathers in caretaking. 

Since the US has no national mandate for paid parental leave, some states have taken matters into their own hands. Currently, 13 states and the District of Columbia have implemented mandatory paid family leave programs. [26] Almost all of these states, excluding New York, utilize social insurance plans to pay the employees on leave, meaning employees’ payroll taxes fund the programs. [27] Although these programs are not as generous in terms of duration and pay compared to programs abroad, they are still effective. California’s Paid Family Leave (PFL) program offers eight weeks of leave per parent with 60-70% wage replacement, after completing an application process. [28] This policy has led to improved child health and maternal mental health, improved employment outcomes for mothers, and has little financial cost to employers. [29]

So, where does the US go from here? One option is the FAMILY Act, which was introduced to the Senate in 2021. [30] This legislation would provide 12 weeks of paid family leave to all US workers, with flexible criteria, and pay according to a sliding scale based on income. [31] Given the efficacy of state programs like California’s PFL, and widespread public support, this seems like a logical next step. However, the bill has not seen any progress, and some believe it will never be passed due to our rising debt ceiling and Congress’ resistance to expanding the “social safety net.” [32] Given these concerns, it is unlikely that the United States’ paid parental leave program will ever begin to resemble the programs implemented by other OECD countries. Nonetheless, California’s PFL program is still effective, meaning smaller-scale reform is worthwhile. Passage of the FAMILY Act would certainly be instrumental to the health of our nation, but in the meantime, states can continue to pass and improve their own programs for their residents. Overall, the United States is moving in the right direction, but it is critical to the well-being of our families that we collectively push for a more generous and widespread approach to paid parental leave. 

Notes:

1. Krystin Arneson, “Why doesn't the US have mandated paid maternity leave?” BBC, 2021. https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210624-why-doesnt-the-us-have-mandated-paid-maternity-leave.

2. Sarah Coombs, “Paid Leave Is Essential for Healthy Moms and Babies,” National Partnership for Women & Families, 2021. https://nationalpartnership.org/report/paid-leave-is-essential-for/.

3. Emily Peck, “Paid family leave still out of reach for most American workers,” Axios, 2023. https://www.axios.com/2023/02/01/fmla-paid-family-leave-policy-america.

4. H. K. Davison and Adam S. Blackburn, “The Case for Offering Paid Leave: Benefits to the Employer, Employee, and Society,” Compensation and Benefits Review 55, no. 1 (October), 2022. https://doi.org/10.1177/08863687221131728.

5. Arneson, “Why doesn't the US have mandated paid maternity leave?”

6. Amy Heshmati, Helena Honkaniemi, and Sol P. Juárez, “The effect of parental leave on parents’ mental health: a systematic review,” The Lancet Public Health 8, no. 1 (January), 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(22)00311-5.

7. Heshmati, Honkaniemi, and Juárez, “The effect of parental leave on parents’ mental health: a systematic review.” 

8. Coombs, “Paid Leave Is Essential for Healthy Moms and Babies.”

9. Maria I. Olsson, “Gender Gap in Parental Leave Intentions: Evidence from 37 Countries,” International Society of Political Psychology 44, no. 6 (January): 1163-1192, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12880.

10. Davison and Blackburn, “The Case for Offering Paid Leave: Benefits to the Employer, Employee, and Society.”

11. Davison and Blackburn, “The Case for Offering Paid Leave: Benefits to the Employer, Employee, and Society.”

12. Lauren Hansen, “Parental Leave Policies: What Employers Should Know (2023),” TechnologyAdvice, 2023. https://technologyadvice.com/blog/human-resources/parental-leave-policies-for-business.

13. Hansen, “Parental Leave Policies: What Employers Should Know (2023).”

14. Davison and Blackburn, “The Case for Offering Paid Leave: Benefits to the Employer, Employee, and Society.”

15. “Paid Parental Leave for Federal Employees,” n.d. U.S. Department of Commerce, Accessed February 23, 2024. https://www.commerce.gov/hr/paid-parental-leave-federal-employees.

16. “The Federal Employee Paid Parental Leave Benefit,” CRS Reports, 2023. https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF12420.

17. “Paid Parental Leave Is Available to Most Federal Employees—But Some May Not Know About It,” Government Accountability Office, 2024. https://www.gao.gov/blog/paid-parental-leave-available-most-federal-employees-some-may-not-know-about-it.

18. Charles L. Baum II and Christopher J. Ruhm, “The Effects of Paid Family Leave in California on Labor Market Outcomes,” Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 35, no. 2 (February): 333-356, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.21894.

19. Hansen, “Parental Leave Policies: What Employers Should Know (2023).”

20. Rosalind Smith, “The 5 best countries for parental leave,” Mauve Group, 2022. https://mauvegroup.com/innovation-hub/blog/the-5-best-countries-for-parental-leave.

21. Gemma Mitchell, “Shared Parental Leave: Can Transferable Maternity Leave Ever Encourage Fathers to Care?” Industrial Law Journal 52, no. 1 (March): 149–178, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1093/indlaw/dwac015.

22. Mitchell, “Shared Parental Leave: Can Transferable Maternity Leave Ever Encourage Fathers to Care?”

23. Olsson, “Gender Gap in Parental Leave Intentions: Evidence from 37 Countries.”

24. Heewon You, “Parental Leave Practice in Sweden and Gender Equality,” Lund University Publications, 2023. https://lup.lub.lu.se/luur/download?func=downloadFile&recordOId=9118994&fileOId=9118997.

25. Guo Tian, “The Legal System of the Maternity and Parenting Leave Under the Background of China’s “Three-Child” Policy: From the Perspective of the Right to Equal Employment,” Advances in Economics, Business and Management Research, (February), 369-389, 2023. https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-494069-99-2_28

26. “State Paid Family Leave Laws Across the U.S,” Bipartisan Policy Center, 2024. https://bipartisanpolicy.org/explainer/state-paid-family-leave-laws-across-the-u-s/.

27. “State Paid Family Leave Laws Across the U.S.”

28. “Celebrating 20 Years of Paid Family Leave,” n.d. EDD, Accessed February 23, 2024. https://edd.ca.gov/en/disability/paid-family-leave/.

29. Lindsey R. Bullinger, “The Effect of Paid Family Leave on Infant and Parental Health in the United States,” Journal of Health Economics 66 (July): 101-116, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhealeco.2019.05.006.

30. Congress.gov, "S.248 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): FAMILY Act," February 4, 2021. https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/248.

31. Molly W. Williamson, “Getting To Know the New FAMILY Act,” Center for American Progress, 2023. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/getting-to-know-the-new-family-act/.

32.  Peck, “Paid family leave still out of reach for most American workers.”

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Baum II, Charles L., and Christopher J. Ruhm. 2016. “The Effects of Paid Family Leave in California on Labor Market Outcomes.” Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 35, no. 2 (February): 333-356. https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.21894.

Bullinger, Lindsey R. 2019. “The Effect of Paid Family Leave on Infant and Parental Health in the United States.” Journal of Health Economics 66 (July): 101-116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhealeco.2019.05.006.

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