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Parental leave policy pros and cons
Parental leave policy pros and cons
Parental leave policy pros and cons
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Within the past few decades, there has been a rise in the number of dual-income families. In todays world, women are expected not only to raise their children, but also earn money for their family in the workforce. Most countries ensure that pregnant women are given paid maternity leave. Only two countries do not carry this policy, Papua New Guinea and the United States (Wares). While the United States at present has the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, merely 60 percent of workers can receive the benefits that this law grants. The Family and Medical Leave Act offers three months of unpaid leave to workers that have amassed 12 months of tenure at a firm of 50 or more employees (Wage and Hour Division). Presently, approximately 40 percent …show more content…
Having said that, it is high time for a more effective and inclusive family leave policy to take effect. Even with private sectors and some states offering paid leave, 40 percent of American women do not enjoy the benefits (Wares). The Family and Medical Leave Act, although utilized widely, does not encompass all working American women/ because of its strict prerequisites, many women find themselves paying the motherhood penalty with unpaid leave, or not taking any leave at all, which jeopardizes their health and their child’s early …show more content…
“To Grow Our Economy, Start with Paid Leave.” Northwest, Washington DC: Cato Institute, November 2014. Linda Houser, Ph. D. & Thomas P. Vartanian, Ph. D. Pay Matters: The positive Economic Impacts of Paid Family Leave for Families, Businesses, and the Public. New Brunswick: Rutgers Center for Women and Work, 2012. Document. Maternity Leave and Why the United States is the Only Developed Nation Without It. Directed by Tracy Wares, 2016. Miller, Claire Cain. “The Economic Benefits of Paid Parental Leave.” The New York Times. 30 January 2015. The Economics of Paid and Unpaid Leave. Issue Brief. Northwest, Washington DC: The Council of Economic Advisers, 2014.
...lley, W. H., Jennings, K. M., Wolters, R. S., & Mathis, R. L. (2012). Employment & Labor Relations. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.
at some point all employees will eventually need time off from work to deal with either a serious personal illness or other family obligations. “Many European nations took to the idea of making balancing family and work easier for employees but the movement did not gain momentum in the United States until the late 60s and 70s when working women were no longer the minority” (AAUW). There was a general shift in the nature of the common everyday american household and a two income household was slowly but surely becoming the new reality of american life.
Ray et al. Parental Leave Policies in 2 Countries – Assessing Generosity and Gender Equality. Center for Economic and Policy Research.
By neglecting to acknowledge the importance of balancing work and life, policies have failed to support employees and their circumstances. This disregard has also cost taxpayers their well-earned dollar. And who are these taxpayers? Needless to say, they are our employees. The Family and Medical Leave Act stipulates that employees are allowed a twelve (12) work-week leave in a twelve (12) month period (for specified situations dealing with childbirth, adoption, family care, serious health conditions etc.). Unfortunately, this act does not specify that the said employees on leave MUST be paid, and it only applies to about sixty (60) percent of all workers. The Federal government is the single largest
The steady rise of healthcare costs and the ever increasing cost of health insurance premiums are making it harder and harder for employers to pay healthcare premiums for their employees. In the past, it was almost a given that employers picked up the tab for health insurance coverage. The health coverage was usually exceptional with little or no money paid out of pocket by the individual for the insurance premiums. Those appear to be the “good old days”, with fewer and fewer employers shelling out money for health insurance premiums and demanding a larger percentage to be paid by the employee. Other employers are simply unable to financially provide healthcare coverage for their employees and have stopped all together.
The balancing act of family and work can be very difficult at times. At some point in everyone’s life, he or she will need to take time off of work to deal with family matters. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993 was created to help employees find a balance between the challenging demands of work and home. This Act allows eligible workers that require time off for personal reasons or family emergencies up to twelve weeks of unpaid leave.
by Donald M. Fisk Bureau of Labor Statistics This article was originally printed in the Fall 2001 issue of Compensation and Working Conditions.
b. If employers allowed their employees to have paid maternity leave, then there will be less conflict between work and family life. Not all jobs are benefitted equally, such as low wage jobs usually lacking benefits and family-friendly policies, and low wage jobs also lack flexibility, which increases work-family conflicts (Dengate, 2016).
Recently women’s rights and women’s equality in the workplace has come back to the fore as a topic for discussion in government agencies and the United Nations. Whilst this is a very important topic, when it comes to time off from work when a new child is born, women in the US have some provision, whereas men have none.
Trends in time off with pay can vary from public (i.e. not for profit) and private (i.e. for profit) sector organizations. Usually public sector employees are governed by benefits that separate vacation, sick, personal days, jury duty, funeral leave etcetera. Private sector employers primarily utilize Paid Time Off (PTO) that lump all of the instances of needing time off in a time bank that each employee is responsible for maintaining. Time off with pay is a topic that is regularly evaluated throughout organizations today. In this paper I will be discussing the paid time off benefits that are offered to public employees.
But, what about the father that is in the picture? The father of the family would also like to have free time to dedicate to their newborn child. In the United States, fathers can take such a leave, but they will be deprived of being paid their wages during this period of time. This seems to be rather unfair to the father of the child, since mothers can take leave but, fathers have to lose vacation time that they have saved up. If the United States implemented the act of paternity leave for the fathers of the children then, men would be able to take the leave when they are needed to without having to worry about losing their job or the current salary pay that they are
America is the one and only developed country that does not offer any paid maternity leave. Maternity leave is a period of absence from work granted to a mother before and after the birth of her child. In America this means twelve weeks of unpaid absence that guarantees her job when she returns. We are so far behind everyone that out of all of the countries around the world seven out of 196 including America do not have mandatory paid maternity leave. (Colorado public radio news) That is a sad figure, to think that we place having a family so high but don’t give the mothers the protection and security they deserve.
“Parental Leave Helps Create Strong Bonds” by Barbra Nicholson, cofounder of Attachment Parenting International (API) and coauthor of Attached at the Heart
Bringing a new baby into the world is one life changing experience. The lives of both the mother and the father are changed tremendously as they begin to learn to raise a child by trial and error. Maternity leave for mothers of newborns is never disagreeable; when it comes to paternity leave, however, it becomes one of the most controversial topics of the workforce. Reasons for maternity leaves and paternity leaves are both justifiable. Men should have the opportunity to take paternity leave from their jobs so that they can be a helping hand to the mother, have a chance to bond with their newborn child, and help bridge the gap in gender equality in the workplace without the stigma and criticism. After the birth of the child, women can become emotionally and physically fatigued, so men take an important role as care giver and supporter, especially in the first few weeks. If a father has an opportunity to stay home for the first couple of weeks, to care for both the mother and his new child, it will make a big impact for the family.
Most parents who experience the opportunity to have a child hope to receive time off from work for personal reasons. Mothers and fathers want to be there for their baby’s first moments, to adjust to their new lifestyle, or need to be home to take care of their sick child. There are many parental leave policies nationally and regionally that people will debate against whether they benefit or hinder mothers and fathers.