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The United States is the only industrialized country without a national paid maternity leave policy, and one of six OECD countries without paid leave for fathers. That leaves U.S. firms to decide whether to provide paid leave to their employees who need time to care for themselves, new children, or loved ones. Just 21% of the civilian workforce, typically white collar workers at larger firms, have access to employer-provided paid leave.
Yet some recruiters and executives at small firms, especially tech start-ups, say that providing paid leave to employees or living in a state with a public paid leave program is increasingly making the difference in recruiting and retaining top talent, especially as the Covid-19 pandemic strains families to the breaking point. “I’ve had people turn me down because of the paid leave,” said Patricia Sias, head of HR at a small STEM firm that does not offer paid family leave. In a previous position, with a large firm, she said the paid leave p