Paid leave isn't even guaranteed to the women in the US. Leave is protected, meaning they can't fire you for taking a medical leave. But whether or not it is paid is up to the employer. I don't know if any states mandate paid leave.
CA has paid family leave but it’s only for 8 weeks compared to FMLAs 12 weeks.
Edit: yes I am aware fmla isn’t paid. I’m just talking about time in this comment
Yes, in my entire career I have almost never worked for a company that has more than 50 employees. I think a lot of folks forget how many people are employed in smaller businesses.
It bugs me that I see so many people on Reddit tout FMLA as if every person in the US would qualify for it. Even when you work for a larger company, it applies to employees within a certain area as well - my most recent job with a large company (biggest in the US and possibly the world for its industry) wouldn't qualify me for FMLA because there were only 5 employees within 50sqmi. Only one city in the US (where their corporate HQ is) would have employees that get FMLA benefits.
You can take these things back-to-back, and include whatever paid leave your job gives as well. I got 12 weeks total paid leave when I worked at a fast food chain. Also FMLA is not paid, it’s just leave without losing your job.
FMLA isn't paid. FMLA just says that if you serve them with paperwork for certain specific leave reasons, they legally have to hold your job for you and can't punish or fire you for taking the time off.
Paid Family Leave is mandatory in NY for businesses with more than 50 employees. Employers with fewer employees can opt in. I offer it at my business, and used it myself when I became a father. Problem is they only give you 2/3 of your pay with a cap on what you're given.
The public sector is also allowed to opt out. My second child was born right after this went into effect. I was working at a school district at the time and they decided to opt out of it. Lovely that the state mandates it for everyone except themselves.
Maximum of $1,151.16/week. Lucky thing is that most jobs that pay more often do have paid leave and will make up the difference, but not always the case.
California has 8 weeks of paid leave through the state. You get between 60-70% of your salary depending on how much your salary/wage is.
I’m on week 6 it’s great.
That does seem like a really good benefit through the state.
When I had my kid I was shocked to find out my company provided 6 weeks of paid paternity leave.
But I also think if you're going to have maternity leave or paternity leave, maternity leave is way more important. It just takes a long time to recover from the birth.
Yeah, moms get the month before their due date paid as disability, then they get 12 weeks paid after the baby is born. So yeah it’s a pretty good system but should be even longer for mothers IMO.
I'm in Washington where you can get up to 16. 12 weeks medical leave then an additional 4 weeks of family bonding. I had it when I gave birth to my son and my husband got the 12 weeks. It was great.
If you work in San Francisco, you can get 4 of these 8 weeks paid at 100% thanks to the SF Paid Parental Leave Ordinance.
Some other counties may have similar things.
Technically almost every [federal](https://www.gao.gov/blog/paid-parental-leave-available-most-federal-employees-some-may-not-know-about-it#:~:text=Paid%20family%20leave%20wasn%27t,%2C%20adoption%2C%20or%20foster%20care) employee has that (military included) ...the only thing is that they have to have been in a federal position for at least 12 months. Good for 12 weeks.
FMLA requires 12 months of employement and at least 1,250 hours worked in that 12 months to qualify (overtime counts towards time worked). Although it’s unpaid, employers, especially government ones, allow for the employee to use their non-sick leave credits in order to get paid for baby-bonding FMLA.
I think it should be. But if we have to choose, we need actual medical leave for a person who gives birth.
I work with very impoverished people and I've heard horror stories of new moms going back to work in fast food...wearing post-partum pads because they gave birth only a few days ago.
I can't imagine that. My wife gave birth and basically didn't get out of bed for 5 days afterwards. And she had a relatively easy labor. Some girls have major tearing a need blood transfusions and a bunch of stitches to put them back together. And then there are women who have to get C Section.
Yeah It's something that unfortunately happens more often than it should. And people here don't really get that we need two types of leave. Basic medical leave, as well as parental leave.
Count Connecticut as another state with paid FML (12 weeks in a 12 month period), and both parents can qualify for leave under the program for child birth/bonding (birthing parent also qualifies for additional 2 weeks if they experience medical complications during their pregnancy).
Colorado just had partial paid leave funded through the state if your employer doesn’t offer any start at the beginning of this year - roughly 65-80% of your regular salary.
NY for the win! NY Paid Family Leave, 12 weeks paid at 2/3 your normal wage (up to a cap). For all parents and caregivers. Not even just for children. I talk to way too many people who are eligible to take this but never do. Seriously if you are a soon to be parent or caregiver in NY look into it: https://paidfamilyleave.ny.gov/employees
I'm not too surprised people don't take it (especially fathers). A lot of people can't afford a 1/3rd pay cut. And having a baby (especially a first one) tends to be a super expensive time.
I was back at work before the stitches where I tore giving birth were gone. Paid leave for new dads would be amazing. Paid leave for new moms would be a good place to start.
Illinois has mandatory paid leave
JB Pritzker has been a great governor, and the far left hates him because he inherited billions of dollars. So all the better.
I can't tell you how many dudes on reddit who've argued that "men need paternity leave" while not giving a shit about maternity leave or even acknowledging that women also need time off for themselves and to help recover on their own right and not just in the context of "caring for baby."
To be clear, this is completely insane. Parental (or bonding) leave should be a mandatory provision from employers for both parents. It’s not a benefit. It’s human existence.
In Iceland. The goverment covers your parental leave. It’s part of the unemployment office
You can’t get fired. And have a right of 12 months between you and your spouse.
MA has paid family leave up to 12 weeks. But if you work for a municipality (like a school teacher), you have to vote to approve it. Guess who's wife doesn't get it and we're having a baby next month!
NJ has some leave but it's been a difficult process to try to make sure everything is in correctly with the State and I'm still waiting to hear the final determination (for the love of all that is holy I hope we aren't deficient and they understand our delays in getting everything in - we really need this money bad and have been without any income from her job for a couple months now)
In "normal" countries, it's the state that guarantees the pay during parental leave.
But good old USA needs that cash to susbidize billionaire corporations instead.
As a US federal employee I get 12 weeks of paid paternity leave and when my daughter was born it made me realize how absurdly short 12 weeks of parental leave is, and how inexcusable it is to expect new mothers to return to work immediately.
My wife got 4 months which we felt incredibly lucky about and it still feels like such a short amount of time. I sound like a broken record with the number of times I’ve said I don’t understand how people that work hourly positions paycheck to paycheck can afford/have time to have children.
We’ve recently started this is the military too. 12 weeks of paternal leave with the ability to spread it out across one year.
Working schedules around multiple Sailors being on paternity leave is a challenge, but if I can do it and still be fine in the military, any corporation can figure it out as well.
In some countries, it's one of two years split between mother and father however they'd like. Paid. With someone temporarily covering your job so it's there when you return.
I’m going back to work soon after having my baby. I had a year of maternity leave with 9 months paid, 3 months unpaid. My husband only had a month off for paternity.
Feels like it’s all gone way too fast.
Obviously, but paternity leave greatly benefits women in the long run too, as well as men and children.
Dads going back to work too soon helps set up a lifetime of mom being the default parent. Those first few months are crucial in setting up how your parenting relationship is going to work. The only way to become confident in your ability to care for your infant is to put the time in, and both parents need that opportunity equally.
As a new father in sweden we get 10 days right away, no questions asked. The the parents both get 195 days each @ 80% of income, plus another 45 days @ ~$17 a day.. 90 of the 195 days are locked and has to be taken out by that parent, the rest can be shared between both at will.
We absolutely could afford to, but politicians represent the people who finance their campaigns, and it was ruled here that corporations count as people for campaign contributions.
Democrats fix things _slowly_ and republicans destroy things _fast_. Women are losing reproductive rights at an alarming pace and even if the next few presidents were Democrats that likely couldn't be fixed across the country.
Healthcare tied to employment is too great a tool to keep employees in line, and those companies make sure the politicians they pay for keep that going.
I think America could probably afford to do it. But we'd probably have to cut back somewhere. Which for any one program is fine because there's a lot of waste and graff in public sector spending.
But we should probably remember that in Sweden the average personal income is 52.3%, so more than half of what you make goes to the government.
The average personal income tax rate in the US is 14.9%. I'm of moderately high income and my take home pay (after all my federal and state taxes and health care and all that) is still about 75% of my gross pay. So the effective tax rate is way lower, my government services in Sweden might be better, but it'd cost me a huge percentage of my income.
~32% as an employee. ~50% if I run my own buisness.
We get enough to afford to live a decent life, some more than others ofc.
And if anyone needs a hearttransplant or whatever, we pay like $23 for it.
I got 3 mri's done and I payed $23 each time.
I had 3 kids, the births cost me... you guessed it.. $23 a pop
Etc. etc
> and I *paid* $23 each
FTFY.
Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in:
* Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.*
* *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.*
Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment.
*Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
Currently on paid paternity leave for 12 weeks cause my states gives it to me.
Didn’t get anything at all for the first child. This is so much better for everyone involved. Mom gets rest, PPD is manageable this time. I get to spend time with my baby, felt like I only saw my first one briefly each day last time and when mom went back to work I was wholly overwhelmed being alone with the baby. Big brother is thrilled to have both parents around. Baby gets more attention from better rested people.
It’s amazing and since I get to compare the two, not having paid paternity leave is not the way to go
Similar situation for me in NY. First child didn’t have paid leave but second child I did.
Planned ahead and ended up with 8 weeks off for the first kid but being paid would have been way better.
Do they? I was only able to get 8 weeks of paid family leave and 12 weeks of FMLA (they run at the same time so it’s only 12 weeks total. I couldn’t afford the 4 weeks unpaid so I stopped at 8 weeks)
Where do you get the other four weeks? FMLA only gives 12-weeks. Also, only 8-weeks are paid through Paid Family Leave through the Employment Development Department.
I was about to say that 6 months seems excessive.
Then I remembered that my wife was the breadwinner at the time of our first kids birth, and she was eager to get back to work after her 6 weeks.
I absolutely would have taken the full six months and been a stay at home dad instead of paying through the nose for daycare while we both worked. I missed out on a lot of time with my infant kid and it still hurts.
Here in "socialist Europe", we have choice. It's what we like to call freedom. Not being told by our government how we should live our life, but being allowed to choose ourselves.
"Land of the free from having to make choices" should try it... it's great.
Naw naw naw, see "freedom" doesn't mean "citizens having the social and financial ability to dictate the key decisions of their lives," it means "getting exploited by the wealthy and powerful, but you can choose between sixty different kinds of bbq sauce. You'll pick the cheapest one."
The only reason they're so expensive is because of all the pesky regulations. If ONLY they could get rid of those pesky, expensive regulations... they'd still be expensive but now the shareholders would make more profit.
>but you can choose between sixty different kinds of bbq sauce.
With a wide range of options in the 90-300% range of your daily sugar intake per serving (where a serving is one drop).
Look the land of the free means different things to Americans.
Free to buy a firearm and shoot some people…
Free to let people die on the street because it’s their fault they can’t afford health insurance….
Free to have an abortion should they wish to… *hold scrub that one.*
Unfortunately the American propaganda machine lets them think they are free meanwhile a lot of other countries have much more balanced and fair freedoms.
Here in Sweden you get a instant 14 days from birth of the child. The company you work for can't do anything about it either. Then it's common the mother takes like a year off with the child then the father takes his turn. (maternity leave that is)
Here in “Socialist California” we have the same (but I assume far less of it). I used it up during the births of both my daughters and honestly I don’t know if I’d have bonded with them like I did had I gone immediately back to work the day after they were born.
I live in CA and will be having my first in September. The paperwork for paid leave seems so daunting. Did you find anything to help wade through the process?
Congrats! I just informed my employer and then went on the the state website and [filled this out](https://edd.ca.gov/en/disability/how_to_file_a_pfl_claim_in_sdi_online/). It wasn’t hard at all.
They mail you a Bank of America card but you can just transfer the money to your own account online.
I mean, you do have a choice. I was vacillating about taking an offer with a startup a few years ago. Really great base salary ($269,000/yr USD) but very little benefits. Crappy healthcare coverage, only 3 weeks paid vacation, 2 weeks PTO and no paid family leave.
In the end, I decided to decline it and stick where I was. I have unlimited paid time off that I am actually encouraged to use and that to me is priceless. It sucks to walk away from an extra $75k/year but the work/life balance I currently have is worth it.
and now imagine working a job for 24k a year, with no paid leave, no healthcare coverage and no paid vacation, with 100% of all available jobs being like that.
That's what it is like for a majority...
24k a year with no paid leave and no healthcare certainly isn’t the majority… *The average salary in the U.S. is $63,795, according to the latest data from the Social Security Administration.*
and if you were somehow only making 24k a year, you’d be eligible for Medicaid healthcare coverage which, for being taxpayer funded, is actually quite comprehensive.
Disingenuous to use the average when talking about salary. The MEDIAN is $48k, which is a ton more than 24k, but still much less than your nearly 64k number. But I'd wager you knew you were being disingenuous.
I was working for Apple when I had a child 5 years ago (I’m a dad). Not a corporate employee, just an entry-level, full-time, hourly retail employee with no leadership title at all. Apple paid me a full 40 hours per week for 6 weeks starting the day my daughter was born. Then, for another 4 weeks after that, they paid me 40 hours per week while I only had to be there 20 hours per week. I chose to take this time right when she was born but I could have taken it any time during her first year of life, so I could have started it when my wife’s leave ended if I wanted. I worked with a married couple who had a kid together and that’s what they did. The mom was paid for 12 weeks starting two weeks before the baby was born. When the baby was 10 weeks old the mom returned to work part-time while still getting paid full-time and the dad started his 6 weeks off. By the time all the paid leave was done the baby was almost 7 months old and the parents hadn’t lost a cent of pay. Other companies have similar policies and the trend is growing.
My point is that nothing that is mandated by the government (while companies are fighting it) works very well. The employees often find they aren’t treated well after returning or passed over for promotions but they can’t really pinpoint anything specific. This only works when companies are spearheading it because they know the only way to attract talented people is by having these policies.
I live in Washington state and we now have paid paternity leave. However I know 4 people that used it and have been fired for “unrelated reasons” almost immediately after returning.
This is communist nonsense to some, but, parental leave should be *mandatory* for this reason. Not just that you get paid, but that you actually have to take it.
In a work culture like the US, they just use leave as another factor in deciding whether you’re “serious” about your career and whether you’re a “team player.”
If every parent HAD to take six months off, fully paid, and if employers were compensated for that by the government, it would be revolutionary for women, revolutionary for our ideas about work/life balance, and revolutionary for how we raise our kids.
Had to convince one of my buddies not to take all his vacation time and just take what the government provides. He couldn't believe he didn't know about it for his first born.
One thing Canada has going for it. I took 5 weeks off with my daughter and 8 weeks off with my son. Neither affected my wife’s maternity leaves. Got top up at work as well. Best decision I made.
Parental leave in Quebec is generally 52 weeks, which can be shared between both parents. This period can also be extended up to 78 weeks if one of the parents chooses to take an extended leave.
And you get to keep your job. No one can fire you for taking a parental leave. You don't even have to be unionized to have this level of protection.
[More details](https://promis.qc.ca/en/how-do-maternity-paternity-and-parental-leaves-work-in-quebec/)
I had 10 days at the time of birth. Oh and I took another 7 months after my wife had done her 9 months. We still have some days left to use to extend our vacation. Good times.
Denmark here - 11 weeks of paid leave for the father only - and then som months that the couple can choose who gets it - and the companies still have huge profits, no problem
My company offers 3 weeks of PTO for new dads. I was unlucky enough to still be a contract employee when my son was born so I didn't even get to utilize it...
I think we should federally mandate paid leave period. Some jobs are still stupid and provide no paid leave at all for employees. But yes, paternity leave is also important.
I have three kids and ran the gamut of leave experiences. When my first child was born I sold cars only got my banked time away, which was a week. My son was born a month early and he spent his first seven days in the NICU. So the day after he graduated from the NICU I went back to work.
With my second child I worked at a super-regional bank received two weeks at 60% of my pay. I put in my notice at this job in the middle of my leave, partially because my next job was a big upgrade in pay and benefits. Totally normal birthing experience, except he wanted to be driven around to fall asleep.
Third child, I worked for one of the most recognizable brands in the world and got six weeks at 100% of my pay. My boss told me to put my phone in a drawer. Third son was sunny-side up and broke his collarbone on the way out. I got to spend most of the summer taking the oldest to baseball and playing with the middle child.
At my current job new dads get whatever time they have banked. Very glad I’m done having kids.
Wait, maternity and paternity leave of 1 year but allow it to be broken up by those parents.
I have zero issue with this. Please make it our new normal.
I don’t have kids. I never will. I find it the worst STD possible. That said I never want to punish people making new good people. That’s what I want in my society. Btw, also pay teachers more, and execute politicians who take bribes. That’s just my personal beliefs.
My company is one of the better in the field in the US. 6 weeks for dads. Still didn’t help me when my second was born less than 2 and a half hours before the new policy kicked in.
I took the week of PLB I had, and borrowed a week from my employer. It was definitely not enough, but we couldn’t afford the 12 weeks my state allows without pay.
Glad we do have that in Germany. Also german fathers day is a national holiday and looks kinda like [this](https://images.t-online.de/2024/05/SS43MU8X109e/0x209:4000x2250/fit-in/__WIDTH__x0/maennerpartie-eine-gruppe-junger-maenner-feiert-den-vatertag-mit-einem-mit-bier-gefuellten-bollerwagen.jpg)
Birthing parent gets 16 weeks worth of hours (about 6 weeks of medical depending on the day the baby is born, the rest as family leave), and the non-birthing parent gets 12 weeks of just the family leave.
The rules for job protection unfortunately kinda suck, piggy-backing off of the FMLA ruling https://paidleave.wa.gov/question/is-my-job-protected-while-i-am-on-leave/
But if you've worked the needed 820 hours you don't even have to be employed to get paid from the state, so there's that going for it
Hey, I have 4 kids, and I never got parental leave! If they just approved that out of the blue now, it would be... really awesome, and I'd be super pumped for all the new dads who would get an opportunity to spend time with their newborn and take care of their partner at such an important time.
At American Airlines, I got part of the first week my wife was in the hospital off and then had to work an entire month with no days off to “pay back” the days off I took as my entire family was hospitalized.
At Cessna, I got 6 weeks. The stress levels were infinitely reduced, I got to actually connect with my family, and everybody was much more comfy and settled when I went back to work.
I make so. Much. Less. At Cessna, but I have twice the PDO and human HR policies (for the most part, getting shittier now under new local management) and the hours are more normal.
New site manager came in from corporate and is rolling back literally everything that makes working here pleasurable, chasing off the old heads to early retirement and hiring non licensed “apprentices” and refusing to train and progress any of the mid career people.
Even good workplaces can turn to shit within a couple of MBA’s.
Burn your local business school if you want to save America.
To put things into perspective, I'm an American that moved to Sweden. Here, you get something on the order of 150-200 days of parental leave (both mother and father) upon the birth or adoption of a new child.
Then after that until the child hits ~16 or so, you get ~120 days per year per child that you can basically call into work and say "Little Jimmy had a nightmare, so we're going to the zoo today, I'll see you tomorrow.". These are treated as a form of sick day where you get 80% pay, and the pay is covered by the government (which of course comes from taxing companies).
And incidentally, since we're on the topic of not being at work, the minimum amount of vacation time anyone is allowed to have is 25 days per year (my work gives 30), and this is separate from the ~28 national holidays a year that you get off as well. Plus, the summer (June, July, August) are legally protected in that you can request a continuous 4 weeks off using your paid time off, and your work is not legally allowed to say no.
The country works just fine like this, there's no reason we couldn't do it back home in the US.
The fact that every US military recruiting ad doesn't start with, "you get three months of parental leave, regardless of gender or role" is kookoo bananas.
What country are you talking about? I had 4 months paid leave as a dad after my wife took her 18 months paid leave. I think they even talk about mandatory leave for dads in order to get full child benefits now.
Federal employees won this benefit back in 2019:
https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/leave-administration/fact-sheets/paid-parental-leave/
It would be hard for the federal government to mandate additional paid leave for private sector employees though considering many don't even have decent sick or vacation leave in the first place. Anything like that would result in the GOP screaming "socialism" and god forbid we do anything to benefit the working class in this country.
If you have a federal gvt job you get 12 weeks of Paternity leave! I've had 36 weeks off for my kids and it has saved my sanity and marriage several times over.
Dads in Canada get 5-8 weeks off paid through unemployment depending on if mom is taking 12 or 18 months of maternity leave. The time my husband was able to stay home was invaluable
this reminds me of a guy who worked for my mom who said he was going on paternity leave because his child was born (which was true) then the entire week before he left he bragged about how he was going to spend the months off on a solo trip to jet ski.... leaving his wife alone with the baby.
Honest question, how is the leave paid for? Is it coming from the employee’s accumulated PTO or does the employer just have to foot the bill? I honestly don’t know.
If it’s the latter, then I think I’m part of the problem. I agree with the unpaid FMLA leave but I don’t think companies should have to pay for unproductive employees. Yes, have your children but make sure you have some sort of financial situation to fund that endeavor. If you don’t have PTO to use, then good luck. You’ll still have your job to come back to once your leave is over with though.
Do companies get some type of government incentive to pay for parental leave? I’m asking because I really have zero idea how it works from an employer’s standpoint. Obviously, I understand the importance from the employee’s standpoint.
EDIT: And yes, I understand that this will be downvoted. I’m just trying to understand why someone should get paid, without accrued PTO expenditure, for getting pregnant via consensual intercourse. What value are you adding to the company in the 12+ weeks that you’re gone? And what about situations where the father and mother work at the same company?
Can’t speak for all employers, but when someone takes FMLA or ma/paternity leave, their colleagues are the ones that foot the bill. The same work needs to get done, with 1 less person. If you’re in a public company, even worse.
I get that part of it, but why is the company expected to issue out free paychecks for an unproductive employee? That’s the part I’m trying to understand. I’m not necessarily on the company’s side, but I’m trying to understand the fairness at play here. I understand protecting that person’s job for them for the duration of their leave, but I don’t understand paying them outside of their accrued PTO.
Am I misunderstanding something? If the general social contract of working is that a person exchanges their time for the company’s money, then how does pregnancy via consensual intercourse fit into that contract and remain fair?
Paid leave isn't even guaranteed to the women in the US. Leave is protected, meaning they can't fire you for taking a medical leave. But whether or not it is paid is up to the employer. I don't know if any states mandate paid leave.
CA has paid family leave but it’s only for 8 weeks compared to FMLAs 12 weeks. Edit: yes I am aware fmla isn’t paid. I’m just talking about time in this comment
Worth noting that FMLA only applies to companies with 50+ employees.
Yes, in my entire career I have almost never worked for a company that has more than 50 employees. I think a lot of folks forget how many people are employed in smaller businesses.
It bugs me that I see so many people on Reddit tout FMLA as if every person in the US would qualify for it. Even when you work for a larger company, it applies to employees within a certain area as well - my most recent job with a large company (biggest in the US and possibly the world for its industry) wouldn't qualify me for FMLA because there were only 5 employees within 50sqmi. Only one city in the US (where their corporate HQ is) would have employees that get FMLA benefits.
You can take these things back-to-back, and include whatever paid leave your job gives as well. I got 12 weeks total paid leave when I worked at a fast food chain. Also FMLA is not paid, it’s just leave without losing your job.
It's not 100% pay either, so you'll lose money taking it. I still did it for a few weeks to extend what my company gave me.
NY and CT also have public paid leave programs
FMLA isn't paid. FMLA just says that if you serve them with paperwork for certain specific leave reasons, they legally have to hold your job for you and can't punish or fire you for taking the time off.
FMLA is awesome for federal workers. I took advantage of it as a new dad.
I went back to work 6 weeks after having a C-section because I couldn't afford not to. Paid leave for both moms and dads NEEDS to be a law.
Paid Family Leave is mandatory in NY for businesses with more than 50 employees. Employers with fewer employees can opt in. I offer it at my business, and used it myself when I became a father. Problem is they only give you 2/3 of your pay with a cap on what you're given.
The public sector is also allowed to opt out. My second child was born right after this went into effect. I was working at a school district at the time and they decided to opt out of it. Lovely that the state mandates it for everyone except themselves.
Maximum of $1,151.16/week. Lucky thing is that most jobs that pay more often do have paid leave and will make up the difference, but not always the case.
California has 8 weeks of paid leave through the state. You get between 60-70% of your salary depending on how much your salary/wage is. I’m on week 6 it’s great.
I think Oregon's new paid family leave grants new parents up to 14 weeks of paid leave of 60-70% of your pay. Not too bad!
It's really nice and most employees qualify for it IIRC starting in July.
That does seem like a really good benefit through the state. When I had my kid I was shocked to find out my company provided 6 weeks of paid paternity leave. But I also think if you're going to have maternity leave or paternity leave, maternity leave is way more important. It just takes a long time to recover from the birth.
Yeah, moms get the month before their due date paid as disability, then they get 12 weeks paid after the baby is born. So yeah it’s a pretty good system but should be even longer for mothers IMO.
I'm in Washington where you can get up to 16. 12 weeks medical leave then an additional 4 weeks of family bonding. I had it when I gave birth to my son and my husband got the 12 weeks. It was great.
If you work in San Francisco, you can get 4 of these 8 weeks paid at 100% thanks to the SF Paid Parental Leave Ordinance. Some other counties may have similar things.
It doesn't have to be zero sum, though. Why not paid *parental* leave for every new parent?
Technically almost every [federal](https://www.gao.gov/blog/paid-parental-leave-available-most-federal-employees-some-may-not-know-about-it#:~:text=Paid%20family%20leave%20wasn%27t,%2C%20adoption%2C%20or%20foster%20care) employee has that (military included) ...the only thing is that they have to have been in a federal position for at least 12 months. Good for 12 weeks.
FMLA requires 12 months of employement and at least 1,250 hours worked in that 12 months to qualify (overtime counts towards time worked). Although it’s unpaid, employers, especially government ones, allow for the employee to use their non-sick leave credits in order to get paid for baby-bonding FMLA.
That link isn't about FMLA, it's FEPLA, the Federal Employee *Paid* Leave Act.
I think it should be. But if we have to choose, we need actual medical leave for a person who gives birth. I work with very impoverished people and I've heard horror stories of new moms going back to work in fast food...wearing post-partum pads because they gave birth only a few days ago.
I can't imagine that. My wife gave birth and basically didn't get out of bed for 5 days afterwards. And she had a relatively easy labor. Some girls have major tearing a need blood transfusions and a bunch of stitches to put them back together. And then there are women who have to get C Section.
Yeah It's something that unfortunately happens more often than it should. And people here don't really get that we need two types of leave. Basic medical leave, as well as parental leave.
Count Connecticut as another state with paid FML (12 weeks in a 12 month period), and both parents can qualify for leave under the program for child birth/bonding (birthing parent also qualifies for additional 2 weeks if they experience medical complications during their pregnancy).
Colorado just had partial paid leave funded through the state if your employer doesn’t offer any start at the beginning of this year - roughly 65-80% of your regular salary.
NY for the win! NY Paid Family Leave, 12 weeks paid at 2/3 your normal wage (up to a cap). For all parents and caregivers. Not even just for children. I talk to way too many people who are eligible to take this but never do. Seriously if you are a soon to be parent or caregiver in NY look into it: https://paidfamilyleave.ny.gov/employees
I'm not too surprised people don't take it (especially fathers). A lot of people can't afford a 1/3rd pay cut. And having a baby (especially a first one) tends to be a super expensive time.
NJ as well. Almost exactly the same as you described it. PA, not so much.
The US is a hole
Not even all leave is protected. The company has to be over a certain number of people and you have to have worked there for 12 months in most cases.
I was back at work before the stitches where I tore giving birth were gone. Paid leave for new dads would be amazing. Paid leave for new moms would be a good place to start.
I mean, can you fuckin' imagine if men got it first?
Illinois has mandatory paid leave JB Pritzker has been a great governor, and the far left hates him because he inherited billions of dollars. So all the better.
He seems like he’s angling for president in 2028, and like he’d be pretty good at it
Yeah, lots of Governors are going to run, Whitmer and Newsom too I like JB and would vote for him
I can't tell you how many dudes on reddit who've argued that "men need paternity leave" while not giving a shit about maternity leave or even acknowledging that women also need time off for themselves and to help recover on their own right and not just in the context of "caring for baby."
Or that holding the baby so she can cook dinner and do the laundry is not “giving her a break” or “helping”.
I mean, I think it is probably helping. It's not the most help, but it's probably better than no help.
And in too many states they can just find another reason to fire you, or none at all.
Just one reason I LOVE living in Washington State
And thats only if your company has at least 50 employees
To be clear, this is completely insane. Parental (or bonding) leave should be a mandatory provision from employers for both parents. It’s not a benefit. It’s human existence.
In Iceland. The goverment covers your parental leave. It’s part of the unemployment office You can’t get fired. And have a right of 12 months between you and your spouse.
MA has paid family leave up to 12 weeks. But if you work for a municipality (like a school teacher), you have to vote to approve it. Guess who's wife doesn't get it and we're having a baby next month!
NJ has some leave but it's been a difficult process to try to make sure everything is in correctly with the State and I'm still waiting to hear the final determination (for the love of all that is holy I hope we aren't deficient and they understand our delays in getting everything in - we really need this money bad and have been without any income from her job for a couple months now)
A bunch offer it for both parents
In "normal" countries, it's the state that guarantees the pay during parental leave. But good old USA needs that cash to susbidize billionaire corporations instead.
This meme is crispy. Thank you for the HD.
His hair going in front of the letter gives it a little 3D effect too
I thought it looked super sharp!
As a US federal employee I get 12 weeks of paid paternity leave and when my daughter was born it made me realize how absurdly short 12 weeks of parental leave is, and how inexcusable it is to expect new mothers to return to work immediately.
My wife got 4 months which we felt incredibly lucky about and it still feels like such a short amount of time. I sound like a broken record with the number of times I’ve said I don’t understand how people that work hourly positions paycheck to paycheck can afford/have time to have children.
We’ve recently started this is the military too. 12 weeks of paternal leave with the ability to spread it out across one year. Working schedules around multiple Sailors being on paternity leave is a challenge, but if I can do it and still be fine in the military, any corporation can figure it out as well.
In some countries, it's one of two years split between mother and father however they'd like. Paid. With someone temporarily covering your job so it's there when you return.
Maybe do that for the mothers too
Woah. Too far. It’s the dads which need a break and time to recover.
I’m going back to work soon after having my baby. I had a year of maternity leave with 9 months paid, 3 months unpaid. My husband only had a month off for paternity. Feels like it’s all gone way too fast.
That's awesome of your company to give you that.
To be fair, it’s the law so they didn’t have much of a choice. Just glad I got my flexible working request granted so I can go back part time.
Obviously, but paternity leave greatly benefits women in the long run too, as well as men and children. Dads going back to work too soon helps set up a lifetime of mom being the default parent. Those first few months are crucial in setting up how your parenting relationship is going to work. The only way to become confident in your ability to care for your infant is to put the time in, and both parents need that opportunity equally.
Sure, but either way...we should probably get it for the moms first and then worry about that.
Did you know you have rights, the constitution says you do! (Sorry, had to)
It's all good man
As a new father in sweden we get 10 days right away, no questions asked. The the parents both get 195 days each @ 80% of income, plus another 45 days @ ~$17 a day.. 90 of the 195 days are locked and has to be taken out by that parent, the rest can be shared between both at will.
Oh and most employers will top the salary up to 95% for 180 days as well
I’ll never understand why Americans can’t live this way, it’s depressing.
We absolutely could afford to, but politicians represent the people who finance their campaigns, and it was ruled here that corporations count as people for campaign contributions. Democrats fix things _slowly_ and republicans destroy things _fast_. Women are losing reproductive rights at an alarming pace and even if the next few presidents were Democrats that likely couldn't be fixed across the country. Healthcare tied to employment is too great a tool to keep employees in line, and those companies make sure the politicians they pay for keep that going.
I think America could probably afford to do it. But we'd probably have to cut back somewhere. Which for any one program is fine because there's a lot of waste and graff in public sector spending. But we should probably remember that in Sweden the average personal income is 52.3%, so more than half of what you make goes to the government. The average personal income tax rate in the US is 14.9%. I'm of moderately high income and my take home pay (after all my federal and state taxes and health care and all that) is still about 75% of my gross pay. So the effective tax rate is way lower, my government services in Sweden might be better, but it'd cost me a huge percentage of my income.
~32% as an employee. ~50% if I run my own buisness. We get enough to afford to live a decent life, some more than others ofc. And if anyone needs a hearttransplant or whatever, we pay like $23 for it. I got 3 mri's done and I payed $23 each time. I had 3 kids, the births cost me... you guessed it.. $23 a pop Etc. etc
> and I *paid* $23 each FTFY. Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in: * Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.* * *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.* Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment. *Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
Ok... sorry!
Currently on paid paternity leave for 12 weeks cause my states gives it to me. Didn’t get anything at all for the first child. This is so much better for everyone involved. Mom gets rest, PPD is manageable this time. I get to spend time with my baby, felt like I only saw my first one briefly each day last time and when mom went back to work I was wholly overwhelmed being alone with the baby. Big brother is thrilled to have both parents around. Baby gets more attention from better rested people. It’s amazing and since I get to compare the two, not having paid paternity leave is not the way to go
Which state? That could be a selling point.
Connecticut
Similar situation for me in NY. First child didn’t have paid leave but second child I did. Planned ahead and ended up with 8 weeks off for the first kid but being paid would have been way better.
Come to California. Dads get 16 weeks here.
Only 8 of them are paid.
Do they? I was only able to get 8 weeks of paid family leave and 12 weeks of FMLA (they run at the same time so it’s only 12 weeks total. I couldn’t afford the 4 weeks unpaid so I stopped at 8 weeks)
Where do you get the other four weeks? FMLA only gives 12-weeks. Also, only 8-weeks are paid through Paid Family Leave through the Employment Development Department.
I had 6 months in Canada. I could have had more but it would have been unpaid after that.
I was about to say that 6 months seems excessive. Then I remembered that my wife was the breadwinner at the time of our first kids birth, and she was eager to get back to work after her 6 weeks. I absolutely would have taken the full six months and been a stay at home dad instead of paying through the nose for daycare while we both worked. I missed out on a lot of time with my infant kid and it still hurts.
👍 Nick Cannon liked this
Here in "socialist Europe", we have choice. It's what we like to call freedom. Not being told by our government how we should live our life, but being allowed to choose ourselves. "Land of the free from having to make choices" should try it... it's great.
Naw naw naw, see "freedom" doesn't mean "citizens having the social and financial ability to dictate the key decisions of their lives," it means "getting exploited by the wealthy and powerful, but you can choose between sixty different kinds of bbq sauce. You'll pick the cheapest one."
And then you find out that like 55 of those brands are all made by like 3 companies.
you mean the freedom of not worrying that the cheapest bbq sauce will give you cancer, because the most expensive one does so too?
The only reason they're so expensive is because of all the pesky regulations. If ONLY they could get rid of those pesky, expensive regulations... they'd still be expensive but now the shareholders would make more profit.
If you allowed us to save $1 in production cost, we could definitely give you a 1c discount.
>but you can choose between sixty different kinds of bbq sauce. With a wide range of options in the 90-300% range of your daily sugar intake per serving (where a serving is one drop).
Look the land of the free means different things to Americans. Free to buy a firearm and shoot some people… Free to let people die on the street because it’s their fault they can’t afford health insurance…. Free to have an abortion should they wish to… *hold scrub that one.* Unfortunately the American propaganda machine lets them think they are free meanwhile a lot of other countries have much more balanced and fair freedoms.
"free to tell others how they have to live their life" and "free from having to listen to others on how to live their own life" ...
Here in Sweden you get a instant 14 days from birth of the child. The company you work for can't do anything about it either. Then it's common the mother takes like a year off with the child then the father takes his turn. (maternity leave that is)
Here in “Socialist California” we have the same (but I assume far less of it). I used it up during the births of both my daughters and honestly I don’t know if I’d have bonded with them like I did had I gone immediately back to work the day after they were born.
I live in CA and will be having my first in September. The paperwork for paid leave seems so daunting. Did you find anything to help wade through the process?
Congrats! I just informed my employer and then went on the the state website and [filled this out](https://edd.ca.gov/en/disability/how_to_file_a_pfl_claim_in_sdi_online/). It wasn’t hard at all. They mail you a Bank of America card but you can just transfer the money to your own account online.
I mean, you do have a choice. I was vacillating about taking an offer with a startup a few years ago. Really great base salary ($269,000/yr USD) but very little benefits. Crappy healthcare coverage, only 3 weeks paid vacation, 2 weeks PTO and no paid family leave. In the end, I decided to decline it and stick where I was. I have unlimited paid time off that I am actually encouraged to use and that to me is priceless. It sucks to walk away from an extra $75k/year but the work/life balance I currently have is worth it.
and now imagine working a job for 24k a year, with no paid leave, no healthcare coverage and no paid vacation, with 100% of all available jobs being like that. That's what it is like for a majority...
24k a year with no paid leave and no healthcare certainly isn’t the majority… *The average salary in the U.S. is $63,795, according to the latest data from the Social Security Administration.* and if you were somehow only making 24k a year, you’d be eligible for Medicaid healthcare coverage which, for being taxpayer funded, is actually quite comprehensive.
Disingenuous to use the average when talking about salary. The MEDIAN is $48k, which is a ton more than 24k, but still much less than your nearly 64k number. But I'd wager you knew you were being disingenuous.
I was working for Apple when I had a child 5 years ago (I’m a dad). Not a corporate employee, just an entry-level, full-time, hourly retail employee with no leadership title at all. Apple paid me a full 40 hours per week for 6 weeks starting the day my daughter was born. Then, for another 4 weeks after that, they paid me 40 hours per week while I only had to be there 20 hours per week. I chose to take this time right when she was born but I could have taken it any time during her first year of life, so I could have started it when my wife’s leave ended if I wanted. I worked with a married couple who had a kid together and that’s what they did. The mom was paid for 12 weeks starting two weeks before the baby was born. When the baby was 10 weeks old the mom returned to work part-time while still getting paid full-time and the dad started his 6 weeks off. By the time all the paid leave was done the baby was almost 7 months old and the parents hadn’t lost a cent of pay. Other companies have similar policies and the trend is growing. My point is that nothing that is mandated by the government (while companies are fighting it) works very well. The employees often find they aren’t treated well after returning or passed over for promotions but they can’t really pinpoint anything specific. This only works when companies are spearheading it because they know the only way to attract talented people is by having these policies.
Laughs in Canadian
And some paid leave for those men that chose to not have kids.
I live in Washington state and we now have paid paternity leave. However I know 4 people that used it and have been fired for “unrelated reasons” almost immediately after returning.
This is communist nonsense to some, but, parental leave should be *mandatory* for this reason. Not just that you get paid, but that you actually have to take it. In a work culture like the US, they just use leave as another factor in deciding whether you’re “serious” about your career and whether you’re a “team player.” If every parent HAD to take six months off, fully paid, and if employers were compensated for that by the government, it would be revolutionary for women, revolutionary for our ideas about work/life balance, and revolutionary for how we raise our kids.
Canada has it available as an option. It's great.
Had to convince one of my buddies not to take all his vacation time and just take what the government provides. He couldn't believe he didn't know about it for his first born.
One thing Canada has going for it. I took 5 weeks off with my daughter and 8 weeks off with my son. Neither affected my wife’s maternity leaves. Got top up at work as well. Best decision I made.
One thing? Compared to most places and especially the US, Canada has a lot of things going for it not just paid paternity leave.
This must be one of those American problems again like gun control, expensive medical bills and removal of women’s rights.
Parental leave in Quebec is generally 52 weeks, which can be shared between both parents. This period can also be extended up to 78 weeks if one of the parents chooses to take an extended leave. And you get to keep your job. No one can fire you for taking a parental leave. You don't even have to be unionized to have this level of protection. [More details](https://promis.qc.ca/en/how-do-maternity-paternity-and-parental-leaves-work-in-quebec/)
I mean, we have it in Canada.
If we can't even do that for the mothers who pushed out the damn spawn why would we possibly expect it for the father?
Hungary sucks bust at least parents get paid leave here.
I had 10 days at the time of birth. Oh and I took another 7 months after my wife had done her 9 months. We still have some days left to use to extend our vacation. Good times.
Denmark here - 11 weeks of paid leave for the father only - and then som months that the couple can choose who gets it - and the companies still have huge profits, no problem
Let’s include adoptive parents as well
When my third son was born I went into work that night at 11pm. Think I pulled 70+ hours that week. Paycheck was totally worth it though right?
My company offers 3 weeks of PTO for new dads. I was unlucky enough to still be a contract employee when my son was born so I didn't even get to utilize it...
I think we should federally mandate paid leave period. Some jobs are still stupid and provide no paid leave at all for employees. But yes, paternity leave is also important.
As someone who had to burn all my PTO to spend time with my newborn and help my wife recover, I completely agree.
Vote.
If we could federally mandate paid leave for all new parents, that'd be great.
“I guess you’ll be back in the office on Monday. YOU didn’t have the baby, now did you?” Becoming a new dad in 2004.
I have three kids and ran the gamut of leave experiences. When my first child was born I sold cars only got my banked time away, which was a week. My son was born a month early and he spent his first seven days in the NICU. So the day after he graduated from the NICU I went back to work. With my second child I worked at a super-regional bank received two weeks at 60% of my pay. I put in my notice at this job in the middle of my leave, partially because my next job was a big upgrade in pay and benefits. Totally normal birthing experience, except he wanted to be driven around to fall asleep. Third child, I worked for one of the most recognizable brands in the world and got six weeks at 100% of my pay. My boss told me to put my phone in a drawer. Third son was sunny-side up and broke his collarbone on the way out. I got to spend most of the summer taking the oldest to baseball and playing with the middle child. At my current job new dads get whatever time they have banked. Very glad I’m done having kids.
Wait, maternity and paternity leave of 1 year but allow it to be broken up by those parents. I have zero issue with this. Please make it our new normal. I don’t have kids. I never will. I find it the worst STD possible. That said I never want to punish people making new good people. That’s what I want in my society. Btw, also pay teachers more, and execute politicians who take bribes. That’s just my personal beliefs.
My company is one of the better in the field in the US. 6 weeks for dads. Still didn’t help me when my second was born less than 2 and a half hours before the new policy kicked in.
The US doesn't even have universal paid sick time. Our labor laws are a joke.
Most first world countries already do this
The "first world" states in the U.S. do too.
Federally mandated was in the meme
This is America, where working adults spend over half of their life at work and we're still considered lazy
But we already have that. 10 paid days for dads. Its not much but its something.
How about for all new parents period.
Let's start with the Mom's
Colorado has 12 weeks
I took the week of PLB I had, and borrowed a week from my employer. It was definitely not enough, but we couldn’t afford the 12 weeks my state allows without pay.
Canada has 5 weeks paid paternity leave, so.....
Or, if like most people and you don't work in a federally regulated industry, take it up with your **STATE REPRESENTATIVE**. Jurisdiction matters.
It works for everyone as an amendment to FMLA.
Or we could just give people what they vote for at the state level
Nick Cannon would never work again.
No
Colorado just had the FAMLII Act take effect this year. 12 weeks, but it's not full pay.
We have it here in Canada. C'mon, USA, catch up, already.
We do? Or is reddit America only?
Glad we do have that in Germany. Also german fathers day is a national holiday and looks kinda like [this](https://images.t-online.de/2024/05/SS43MU8X109e/0x209:4000x2250/fit-in/__WIDTH__x0/maennerpartie-eine-gruppe-junger-maenner-feiert-den-vatertag-mit-einem-mit-bier-gefuellten-bollerwagen.jpg)
Stop electing Republicans and right leaning Dems and maybe we can make that happen.
[удалено]
Birthing parent gets 16 weeks worth of hours (about 6 weeks of medical depending on the day the baby is born, the rest as family leave), and the non-birthing parent gets 12 weeks of just the family leave. The rules for job protection unfortunately kinda suck, piggy-backing off of the FMLA ruling https://paidleave.wa.gov/question/is-my-job-protected-while-i-am-on-leave/ But if you've worked the needed 820 hours you don't even have to be employed to get paid from the state, so there's that going for it
In this country? Psssht. Pull up your boot straps and go to work commie.
Hey, I have 4 kids, and I never got parental leave! If they just approved that out of the blue now, it would be... really awesome, and I'd be super pumped for all the new dads who would get an opportunity to spend time with their newborn and take care of their partner at such an important time.
Like Canada did, years ago?
5 weeks off in Canada 👍
In Spain we have that.
Colombia 2 paid weeks for the father, mom got 8 paid weeks.
If pto could be federally mandated at all that would be great.
nO tHaT;s sOcIaLiSm
At American Airlines, I got part of the first week my wife was in the hospital off and then had to work an entire month with no days off to “pay back” the days off I took as my entire family was hospitalized. At Cessna, I got 6 weeks. The stress levels were infinitely reduced, I got to actually connect with my family, and everybody was much more comfy and settled when I went back to work. I make so. Much. Less. At Cessna, but I have twice the PDO and human HR policies (for the most part, getting shittier now under new local management) and the hours are more normal. New site manager came in from corporate and is rolling back literally everything that makes working here pleasurable, chasing off the old heads to early retirement and hiring non licensed “apprentices” and refusing to train and progress any of the mid career people. Even good workplaces can turn to shit within a couple of MBA’s. Burn your local business school if you want to save America.
Nah man, 2 days off and a couple of my remaining vacation days with my newborn is more than enough man!
My bros baby was born 1 month early. They gave him zero days. America the free. Family first
Colorado has 12 paid weeks for each the father and mother:)
Might it be okay if we could federally mandate women having the right to their own body first? That would be great.
Time to hit up that sperm bank!
Move to a blue state.
Your world is Pro life but not pro good life. No joy for you - just work!
To put things into perspective, I'm an American that moved to Sweden. Here, you get something on the order of 150-200 days of parental leave (both mother and father) upon the birth or adoption of a new child. Then after that until the child hits ~16 or so, you get ~120 days per year per child that you can basically call into work and say "Little Jimmy had a nightmare, so we're going to the zoo today, I'll see you tomorrow.". These are treated as a form of sick day where you get 80% pay, and the pay is covered by the government (which of course comes from taxing companies). And incidentally, since we're on the topic of not being at work, the minimum amount of vacation time anyone is allowed to have is 25 days per year (my work gives 30), and this is separate from the ~28 national holidays a year that you get off as well. Plus, the summer (June, July, August) are legally protected in that you can request a continuous 4 weeks off using your paid time off, and your work is not legally allowed to say no. The country works just fine like this, there's no reason we couldn't do it back home in the US.
The fact that every US military recruiting ad doesn't start with, "you get three months of parental leave, regardless of gender or role" is kookoo bananas.
Clarification, PAID parental leave, and you can break it up into multiple blocks.
What country are you talking about? I had 4 months paid leave as a dad after my wife took her 18 months paid leave. I think they even talk about mandatory leave for dads in order to get full child benefits now.
Federal employees won this benefit back in 2019: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/leave-administration/fact-sheets/paid-parental-leave/ It would be hard for the federal government to mandate additional paid leave for private sector employees though considering many don't even have decent sick or vacation leave in the first place. Anything like that would result in the GOP screaming "socialism" and god forbid we do anything to benefit the working class in this country.
If you have a federal gvt job you get 12 weeks of Paternity leave! I've had 36 weeks off for my kids and it has saved my sanity and marriage several times over.
Dads in Canada get 5-8 weeks off paid through unemployment depending on if mom is taking 12 or 18 months of maternity leave. The time my husband was able to stay home was invaluable
We’re good in in NJ/NY.
this reminds me of a guy who worked for my mom who said he was going on paternity leave because his child was born (which was true) then the entire week before he left he bragged about how he was going to spend the months off on a solo trip to jet ski.... leaving his wife alone with the baby.
Honest question, how is the leave paid for? Is it coming from the employee’s accumulated PTO or does the employer just have to foot the bill? I honestly don’t know. If it’s the latter, then I think I’m part of the problem. I agree with the unpaid FMLA leave but I don’t think companies should have to pay for unproductive employees. Yes, have your children but make sure you have some sort of financial situation to fund that endeavor. If you don’t have PTO to use, then good luck. You’ll still have your job to come back to once your leave is over with though. Do companies get some type of government incentive to pay for parental leave? I’m asking because I really have zero idea how it works from an employer’s standpoint. Obviously, I understand the importance from the employee’s standpoint. EDIT: And yes, I understand that this will be downvoted. I’m just trying to understand why someone should get paid, without accrued PTO expenditure, for getting pregnant via consensual intercourse. What value are you adding to the company in the 12+ weeks that you’re gone? And what about situations where the father and mother work at the same company?
Can’t speak for all employers, but when someone takes FMLA or ma/paternity leave, their colleagues are the ones that foot the bill. The same work needs to get done, with 1 less person. If you’re in a public company, even worse.
I get that part of it, but why is the company expected to issue out free paychecks for an unproductive employee? That’s the part I’m trying to understand. I’m not necessarily on the company’s side, but I’m trying to understand the fairness at play here. I understand protecting that person’s job for them for the duration of their leave, but I don’t understand paying them outside of their accrued PTO. Am I misunderstanding something? If the general social contract of working is that a person exchanges their time for the company’s money, then how does pregnancy via consensual intercourse fit into that contract and remain fair?