Maternity leave in the United States is governed by U.S. labor law. There is a right to temporary and unpaid attendance from work given to pregnant women or new mothers during the months before and after childbirth. These policies are generally aimed at supporting the full recovery of mothers from childbirth and facilitating stronger mother-child bonds. The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) requires 12 weeks of unpaid leave every year for most mothers of newborns or newly adopted children.
This is one of the lowest rates in the industry. Compared to other countries, the United States is the only country in the world, and the only member of the OECD, which has not passed laws that require companies and companies to offer paid paid births to their employees.
Video Maternity leave in the United States
History
Historically, maternity leave is not a relevant legislative matter because mothers are largely prevented from participation in the labor force. They are constrained by restrictive gender norms that limit their access to employment. Between 1961 and 1965, only 14% of mothers participated in the labor force within 6 months after the birth of their child.
Prior to the introduction of the FMLA law in 1993, the coverage of maternity leave was governed by state law, collective bargaining agreements, and employer policies. The first set of maternity leave policies emerged in the late 1960s. By 1969, five states had passed a Temporary Disability Insurance law protecting employees from losing income in the event of a temporary medical disability. Under this law, new mothers are given leaves that match the benefits that other employees receive for illness or temporary disability. This state-level statewide leave trends continued into the 1970s and 1980s where many other states passed a more explicit recognition of the rights of new mothers to temporary leave of absence. Finally, 12 states and the District of Columbia have implemented measures that require at least some private sector entrepreneurs to offer maternity leave packages to their employees. Even in the absence of these official regulations, employees in other states often receive maternity leave through collective bargaining. Employees often hold enough bargaining power to influence employer policies and negotiate to include maternity leave protection.
Although there was local employee access to maternity leave, there was increasing pressure for national maternity leave laws in the early 1990s. Many new mothers continue to be excluded from the provision of maternity leave even as national demand continues to rise. Women now enjoy greater employment opportunities and change gender norms that encourage increased labor engagement. The increase in women's work is extended to mothers as well who are now more likely to engage in the workforce even if they have a young child. The labor participation rate of mothers with children under 1 year of age rose from 31% in 1976 to 54% in 1992. Despite the high labor force participation rate, only about 40% of working women have access to the protection of maternity leave explicitly.. This inadequate national coverage sparked loud protests and an increasing national consensus on the value of maternity leave. In the end, increased importance and encouraged national support led to the passage of the Family Law and the 1993 Medical Leave requiring maternity leave.
Maps Maternity leave in the United States
Current law
Federal law
The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (or FMLA), signed into law during the first term of President Bill Clinton, mandates a minimum of 12 weeks of unpaid leave to mothers for the purpose of attending to newborns or adopted children. However, such measures do not reach universal coverage as they include some restrictive provisions. To receive maternity leave, the employee must work in a company with 50 or more employees, retain a job with the same business for 12 months and have accumulated at least 1250 working hours during the 12 months. In 2012, 59% of American employees are eligible under FMLA.
The FMLA is the only law that deals with family leave. Two other Federal laws, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, and Patient Protection as well as the Afforestable Treatment Act Act of the Fair Labor Standards Act, provide additional protection for parents about the birth of a child.
Country law
Many countries have complemented this federal regulation and provide wider maternity allowance, including expanding paid or flexible sick times, expanding access for workers in smaller companies or with less time at work, the right to widespread pumping of laws, federal law, and pregnancy accommodation.
In 2016, 12 states do not enact additional laws or programs to support family leave before or after birth. Fourteen states, along with the District of Columbia, have discussed eligibility requirements by lowering the firm's size threshold from 50 or more employees to the lowest level of 10 employees. The other seven states, in addition to the District of Columbia, have adopted more generous maternity leave allowing longer absences for the purpose of child rearing. In addition, some states have enacted laws that increase the benefits of leave programs.
California, New Jersey and Rhode Island, for example, operate programs that require private sector employers to pay their employees who take maternity leave for a partial replacement cost. New York passes paid leave legislation, which includes maternity leave, by 2016 - starting at 8 weeks and 50% payments by 2018, and reaching 12 weeks and 67% of payments by 2021.
The state of Washington passed a family allowance bill paid in 2007, but lacked a funding mechanism and it has not been enacted. Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia signify births as temporary disabilities so as to ensure mothers pay maternity leave through the provisions of Disability Insurance (TDI).
Other federal policies
The Department of Defense has set the number of maternity leave that military personnel can take. Prior to February 5, 2016, the leave lasted six weeks for active duty members or reserve officers who had previously performed twelve months of active duty time. On January 28, 2016, Defense Minister, Ashton Carter, raised twelve weeks paid maternity leave for all branches. Nevertheless, the traditional reserve troops were given an excusal of eighty-four days, not leaving.
In the United States Air Force AFI36-3003, states that maternity leave begins after being released from the hospital for delivery, as well as defined for other branches. "Co-benefits" can be made if both parents are active members of the Air Force. Therefore, the amount of up to twelve weeks may be taken by one parent or distributed between the two parents. However, two married active duty members can not create "joint benefits" in the Army, according to the Army Directive 2016-09 (Maternity Leave Policy).
There was an attitude by the previous Navy Secretary, Ray Mabus, to increase maternity leave from six to eighteen weeks for the Navy and Marine Corps beginning on July 2, 2015. It was held until January 28, 2016, however, remains eighteen weeks for those who pregnant before and on March 3, 2016.
It is a significant leap to go from six to twelve weeks of maternity leave. Other benefits have also been enhanced to improve the lives of those with newborn or newly adopted children. These benefits include an increase in hours of child care up to fourteen hours a day, and allow active duty members to have more ability to plan families by paying for sperm and freezing eggs. These decisions were made by the previous Minister of Defense "in an effort to support military families, increase retention and strengthen future powers."
The impact of maternity leave in the United States
Health
Child health and development
The study states that an additional week of maternity leave among industrialized countries reduces the infant mortality rate by 0.5 deaths per 1,000 live births.. There is also a positive correlation between maternity leave and duration of breastfeeding. Mothers who are not engaged in work may be better able to participate in breastfeeding consistently; breastfed infants may be getting fewer infections and also lower risk for asthma, obesity, and infant mortality syndrome. Research has shown that breastfeeding has the ability to produce substantial health improvements in disease prevention and enhancement of the immune system. Furthermore, further evidence suggests that maternal care is very important during the first few months after childbirth, or the time at which maternity leave applies.
Mother's health
The postpartum medical definition is the time span between the birth and return of the mother's reproductive organs to the nonpregnant state. For women returning to work during this postpartum period, stress maintaining a balance between their professional and parental responsibilities has been shown to weaken their immune system and interact badly with their psychological state.
The Impact of Depression
Depression is a condition with both mental and physical side effects and can be very debilitating depending on the severity. Risk factors vary from person to person. Risk factors vary from person to person and women are usually diagnosed with more depression than men. In addition to trauma, physical illness, certain personality traits, and previous family history, pregnancy can be a cause of depression in women. Symptoms of this disease include, loss of interest in activities, difficulty focusing, thinking, making decisions, and remembering things, anxiety, irritation, slow talk, physical pain, and feelings of sadness and worthlessness. The combination of these symptoms makes simple tasks seem daunting and almost impossible. Women who have just given birth are already recovering from severe physical symptoms while caring for newborns and adding depressive symptoms to these mixtures can be a huge burden to them. When these new mothers get back to work, they have additional pressure to worry about their child and balance their family and work roles. Mothers who return to work soon after child birth tend to be depressed compared to other mothers; therefore, longer maternity leave has the potential to help new mothers. Women will have more time to recover from childbirth both mentally and physically, which can help prevent the onset of depression.
Economy
Economic efficiency
The four states currently offer paid family leave: California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Rhode Island. In New Jersey, women who took paid leave in the year after childbirth were 40% less likely to receive public assistance or food stamps. According to a California-based study, 87% of employers report that paid leave requirements do not increase costs; 9% note that it saves money due to decreased turnover and other expenses.
Although overall labor force participation has declined since 2000, some economists argue that paid paid leave in California has increased labor force participation among mothers. Mothers who receive paid maternity leave may be more likely to return to work later, and then work more hours and earn higher wages.
A less favorable maternity leave policy may hinder the career path and prospects for women's promotion. The long-term absence of such policies often undermines women's economic status and opportunities. During this hiatus, their skills and work experience can deteriorate so as to limit their potential for advancement.
Punishment mother
Available maternity leave options can also help reduce the impact of children on career advancement, or maternal punishment. Currently there is a "family gap" between the pay of the mother and not the mother. In the United States prior to the passage of FMLA, mothers typically earn 70% of male wages while nonmothers get 90%. This income gap comes partly from the prospect of unsafe job returns. Women without the protection of maternity leave are often forced to re-start with new employers after their absence. This disrupts their career development and burdens them with the additional task of finding new jobs. Such factors ultimately hamper equitable access to career income and opportunities. Women as a group mainly experience an increase in income inequality because their age reflects the impact of motherhood on the prospects of their wages. However, FMLA implementations addressed some of these obstacles through the introduction of mandatory maternity leave. Mothers are now more likely to return to their former employers because of this increased legal protection. This policy minimizes some of the negative externalities of mothers by maintaining women's employment options even after maternity leave. Many policy experts though suspect that the remaining gender imbalances are largely due to the lack of paid leave options. Women who work for companies providing maternity leave before they give birth are more likely to take the leave for up to 12 weeks, and are more likely to return to work sooner afterwards.
Social
Access equality
American family policy validates inequality because many low-income women do not have access to maternity leave. Under the current FMLA system, about 40% of US workers are not eligible for profit because of their short tenure or smallness of their company. These excluded populations are often women with low wages and minorities, thus advancing their existing losses. In addition, the unpaid aspects of current policies limit access to those who are economically rich. The US Department of Labor reported that over a period of 22 months in 1999 and 2000, 3.5 million people needed time off but could not receive it due to affordability issues. Lack of money compensation can hinder the ability of women who are not financially secure like others to balance work with their family life.
Paternity leave
California is the first state to offer paternity leave payments week (six weeks, partial payment). In the United States, weekly paternity payments are not offered (therefore fathers do not pay for weeks off), but fathers have access to unpaid fatherless leave to care for newborns (with no new income). New Jersey and Rhode Island have passed legislation for paid family leave. Often, fathers will take sick days or vacation time when they have a newborn. There are also more and more unpaid fathers. Some employers are required by law to allow 12 weeks of unpaid family leave after the birth or adoption of a child. This law is under the FMLA or Family Medical Leave Act. Fathers who have access to maternal leave give mothers the opportunity to engage in paid work, with a positive effect on the participation of female workers and wages.
The US military branch also shows minimal paternity leave. Although some branches give more time after birth to take leave, all branches are given up to ten days. This type of leave only applies to those who are married.
Longer paternal leave increases father involvement with a child, leading to an increase in cognitive outcomes and mental health of children and fewer behavioral problems.
Foreign comparison
The US maternity leave policy is different because of its relative scarcity of benefits compared to other industrialized nations. Thus, the law imposes relatively few restrictions on American companies rather than underlining employers' wisdom in shaping maternity leave policies. These companies are thus free to offer a policy of maternity leave on terms that are more in harmony with the interests of the company. United States policy is very different from most other western countries in terms of providing maternity leave.
This striking contrast to maternity leave is shown both in terms of length and policy compensation. In terms of the duration of maternity leave that is protected, the United States currently ranks 20 of the 21 highest-income countries. The United States is one of three countries, along with Oman and Papua New Guinea, which do not offer paid maternity leave. Countries offering paid maternity leave include Mexico (12 weeks), UK (40 weeks), India (26 weeks), Chile (6 weeks before birth, 12 weeks after) http://www.dt.gob.cl/consultas/1613/w3-article-60107.html, Canada (1 year), and China (14 weeks). Although the United States does not guarantee maternity leave, employers may grant paid leave if they choose. There are three states in the United States that give paid payday leave and they are California, New Jersey, and Rhode Island.
Mothers usually share baby care with their husbands. Dad can pay a week leaf if they live in California (partially paid leave). In Slovenia the father has 12 weeks of 100% paid paternity leave. In Sweden, 480 days out of 80% pay maternity leave for weeks. In Norway, 49 weeks from 100% paternity leave paid weeks or 59 weeks from 80% paid paternity leave. The Finnish father had 11 weeks paid partial leave.
See also
- Parental leave
- Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993
- Paid off family leave
- Parent penalty
- Mom working
- Balanced work-life
- Maternity
- US labor law
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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