By Breanna Prater
February 28, 2019
For the past several years there has been a large push in the United States for paid family leave after a child is born, oftentimes for both parents. This push comes later than most other industrialized nations. NYT writes that the United States is “the only country in the industrialized world without federally mandated paid maternity leave.” This lack of protective legislation leaves individuals scrambling to patch together vacation and sick days after the birth of a child, which harms more than the family involved. American Enterprise Institute examines that paid family leave benefits the economy and workforce. In fact, the problem has gotten so bad that AJC reports Dove is working on providing $5,000 in grants for fathers whose business’ do not provide paid family leave after their spouse/partner has a child.
Some states are taking action to correct this disparity. Bloomberg Law analyzes that 18 states have proposed bills in 2019 to provide for state mandated maternity leave varying from 4 to 12 weeks. Several states are modeling their program after New Jersey, one of only three states that have mandated paid family leave (along with California and Rhode Island). And New Jersey did not stop there. According to Fatherly magazine, in addition to having the best paid family leave in the nation, New Jersey is actively working to improve their program. Last Tuesday the governor signed a bill that doubles the states paid family leave up to 12 months. In 2020, the program will extend to caring for sick family members as well.
Individual companies are also taking action to help provide young and developing families with paid family leave so they can take care of themselves and their children after a birth. As previously mentioned, Dove has taken a strong stance on this issue. In addition to creating company wide policies for paid family leave, they are working to create grants for those whose companies do not allow for this important time with family. Several individuals are even beginning to advocate for a national law requiring paid family leave. CBS news reports that the Reddit co-founder, Alexis Ohanian, is advocating for a national law mandating paid family leave since it does not exist for ⅔ of Americans. The action of activists, states, and companies alike all illustrate how important this issue is to Americans.
The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Infuse Student Media or Southwest Baptist University.
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