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April 19, 2021 4:00 AM Kelly Anne Smith - Forbes Advisor
Posted:
Updated:
April 19, 2021 9:53 AM
The United States is the only industrialized country in the world that does not guarantee paid parental leave and most of those who qualify for the standard unpaid leave don’t use it because they can’t afford to.
Parental leave is a crucial part of the social safety net that ensures your job is protected when you have to take time off to give birth to or care for a child. The national mandate for unpaid parental leave in the U.S. also covers workers’ time off to tend to a serious injury, whether it’s theirs or a family member’s.
New Zealand Law Granting Paid Leave for Miscarriage Sparks Organizing in US
Mo Major holds his 2 1/2-week-old son Maverick on March 26, 2020, in Mount Vernon, New York.
John Moore / Getty Images
When New Zealand’s Parliament extended three days of paid leave to workers and their partners following a miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy or stillbirth, as well as to those whose plans to welcome a child through adoption or surrogacy become derailed, it cast a spotlight on how countries throughout the world treat the aftermath of pregnancy loss.
A Better Balance, a U.S. organization working to improve economic security and expand benefits for pregnant and parenting workers, is one of many groups that has weighed in on New Zealand’s expanded leave. “New Zealand’s policy shift opened up an opportunity for conversations about what workers need to care for themselves and their families,” Molly Weston Williamson, the group’s director of Paid Leave and Future of Work, told
Labor: Changes You Should See Under President Biden oswegocountybusiness.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from oswegocountybusiness.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Friday, February 12, 2021
In recent weeks, a number of federal legislative measures have been introduced that, if passed, will have significant impacts on federal labor and employment policies.
Paycheck Fairness Act
On Jan. 28, Democrats in the House of Representatives reintroduced the Paycheck Fairness Act. The proposed bill will update the Equal Pay Act of 1963 by, among other things, requiring employers to demonstrate that wage differentials between men and women employees are based on factors other than sex. Other key provisions include prohibiting retaliation against workers who inquire about their employers’ wage practices or disclose their own wages; strengthening penalties for equal pay violations; and prohibiting employers from inquiring about salary history during the hiring process.
Democrats in Congress put forward companion legislation in the Senate and House of Representatives on Friday for a national paid leave program that would set up workers to receive a portion of their pay while taking time off for health conditions, pregnancies, childbirth, the care of a family member and other reasons.