Maternity Leave: Should They Receive Paid Leave?

America being one the most industrialized nations it is shocking to most to discover that it does not provide a more beneficial maternity leave when compared to its European counterparts. Not only is Europe leading the way for a lengthier leave of absence for new mothers, they also provide financial benefits to those families with newborns, to American society this is not considered a cultural norm, in fact it is even bizarre to some that having a child while in the work force would even be beneficial. Consequently, the difficulty in accessing a reasonable maternity leave in America creates long term effects on a child’s development.

In the spirit of debate I speak to the following representatives/senators of the concept bill C addresses. Should parents be forced to suffer financially and mentally because they gave birth to a baby? They should not and I am in affirmation of this bill because it protects families from financial stress and has health benefits to the mothers and their children.

(video go -We are the only industrialized nation that doesn't guarantee workers paid family leave." in a speech at the Democratic convention – Monday, July 25,

Is America falling behind the rest of the world in terms of the services it provides? As a proud citizen of this great nation I, unfortunately, have to say “yes.” Our once outstanding country has been falling behind in a number of areas including technology, education, economics, and yes, even in family care! America is now one of only three industrialized countries that hasn’t set up a nationwide policy for paid parental leave. With this knowledge I desired to know more, particularly if we as a nation are not doing much to rectify the situation. Then, to learn if any states were doing something about this issue which effects so many people in the workforce. I wanted to see exactly how far behind, compared to the rest world, we are in the issue of paid parental leave. The Pew Research Center conducted a study of government supported leave in 38 OECD countries, and found that the US had the lowest figures with zero weeks of paid leave. Though we did fare better when it came to the number of weeks provided for protected leave with 12 weeks. We were still far worse than most other OECD countries (see Figure 1 at right). Knowing that we were rated worse I wanted to know what people are saying that we can and should be doing to change this situation?

The Urban Institute published a case study that promotes the creation of national paid family leave policy in the United States. In the study, it is shown that this issue has been debated countless times in the past. George H.W. Bush even vetoed an unpaid family leave act during his presidency. This displays the struggles of enacting policy relating to this issue. The lack of a national paid family leave program in the US has left working mothers with three options: “return to work immediately after childbirth, quit employment, or take unpaid leave” (Urban Institute, 2017, p.3). The issue with these options include, loss of pay, unemployment, or the lack of parental presence in a child’s early development. Moreover, although some private companies offer paid leave, less educated and lower income mother have little access to this paid leave, which exacerbates their financial instability, keeping them in a lower societal class. This study found that not only is the current system is inadequate, but it is also inequitable, which causes financial hardships across the nation. According to the study, there has even been a 32% decrease in income after childbirth. Although this is the current situation, some states have enacted a statewide paid family leave program, which displays

There is a correlation between postpartum and physiological and psychological health issues (Chatterji, 2004). Studies also found that inadequate time away from work after giving birth spurs postpartum therefore, paid maternity leave needs to be addressed to alleviate these results since recent mothers with limited financial resources tend to return to work sooner than they should. Also, it is difficult for working mothers to juggle a demanding work environment while caring for an infant at home. The stress of trying to balance the two has shown to weaken the immune system which causes other health problems down the road. According to Chatterji, returning to work too early also comes with consequences including numerous psychological conditions but most particularly depression. Chatterji also states that these negative symptoms can be reduced incrementally by increasing the time of maternity leave.

In the afore-mentioned article by Teresa Wiltz, it did not go without recognition that work is being put in to help out the working women in our nation. Mark Dayton announced in November of 2017 to pay compensation for parental leave for six weeks. This is huge for women due to the fact that maternity leave is a large part of the pay gap issue. This proves to be working as it now shows that women in Minnesota make eighty nine cents to the man’s dollar. Other states such as South Carolina, Missouri, and New York are all formulating studies and working to create laws to help abolish the pay gap between men and women” (Wiltz 2). It is with high hopes that

In Sick Parents Go to Work, Stay Home When Kids Are Ill by Christopher Mele, he discusses the issue with parents staying home to care for their children when their ill. Adults get a limited amount of “sick days” or “personal days” that they are able to take off, but instead of the days being used on themselves, the parents of children will most likely use them to take care of their children. Mele states, “The evidence is pretty overwhelming that working parents neglect themselves first” (Mele 242). In most cases, parents will save their days off for a time when the child may become ill in the future. If a parent is sick, it is likely they will not take a day off for themselves.

As a person I personally do not mind paying more taxes as long as it actually went to people who are in need of assistance. I understand that there are people in our society struggling and I believe they should have access to programs that could help the better themselves. The system in which people are picked for the program is flawed because it can easily be tricked which is how people who do not need the assistance can get in the programs.

Paternity leave used to be just for women. Due that they are in need of recovery after giving birth to a child and require time to bond with the new born before they come back to working full time. But what about the father of that child? Should they be afforded the same time or at least a limited amount of time in order to form the initial bond with their child. The laws in business holds companies responsible to treating men and women the same. As the Equal Rights Amendment states “The United States Constitution designed to guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex; it seeks to end the legal distinctions between men and women in terms of divorce, property, employment, and other matters”. Paid paternity leave should definitely be a law enforced in all states.

The employer claimed that there was no discriminatory decision in replacing the employee on maternity leave. He stated that the employees statutory maternity leave began on September 8th, and ended on March 8th. In early march, the employer tried to make contact but did not receive a response, then in April, the employee on maternity leave made contact with her employer, requesting a letter stating that her maternity leave was extended to May 21st. The employer responded informing her that another person had filled her position. The Equality Officer in this case determined that the employee did have a prima facie case of discrimination. The Officer noted that there was not a resignation by the Employee and pushed for the fact that there was

The US policy on maternity leave falls short when compared to the rest of the world’s industrialized countries. This country is the last industrialized one left to not have mandated paid maternity leave for new mothers. American mothers are plagued with the pressure of having to take care of their newborn(s) and economic situation for at least twelve weeks. They’re at a greater risk of having an unstable income, family life, and health. This is despicable. It is imperative that the United States rectifies this situation and introduces paid maternity leave for the workforce as an emendation in order to provide mothers with a sense of security and wellbeing while taking time off to care for their newborns. It’s time for the US to join the

One argument against a paid maternity leave is based on the assumption that one of the parents should not be working in the first place. In other words, a full-time stay-at-home parent is beneficial to the development of the child and therefore a paid limited-time maternity leave is redundant and is simply a waste of resources. Suzanne Venker, a writer, insists that “According to Public Agenda, 70% of parents with children under age five believe “having a parent at home is best.” And 63% disagree that children in daycare receive "just as good" care and attention as with a stay-at-home parent. These findings are commensurate with 2014 Pew data that shows 60% of Americans say children are "better off when a parent stays home to focus on the family.”” ("Why Paid Maternity Leave Is Not the Answer.") According to these findings, Americans are unlikely to agree to encourage mothers to put their children in childcare and go back to work, let alone spend money on a paid maternity leave.

The United States has fallen behind the curve when it comes to paid leave for mothers. Only 8 countries in the world don’t offer wage replacement for maternity leave, and the United States is one of them. Additionally, we are the only high income country in the world to not supplement wages to mothers on leave. We have begun taking steps toward change. Several states such as California, Hawaii, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island, are passing laws that require business to offer supplemental wage benefits for several weeks after the birth or adoption of a child. Paid Maternity leave is important because it reduces financial strain on families, therefore increasing infant health. Paid maternity leave is looked upon negatively because paid leave can be connected to detrimental economic outcomes like an increase in taxes, but recent research in the United States has combated that statement.

If in our nation there is not mandate paid for maternity leave, think about taking paternal leave? In Canada paternal leave is governed under the same legislation as a mother taking parental leave. New parents in the U.S. are guaranteed their jobs for 12 weeks after the arrival of a new baby, thanks to the Family Medical Leave Act of 1993, but they do not have to be paid during that time.