For many women planning to start a family, parental leave is a top priority. But these benefits can be confusing, and fewer than half of employed women say their employer offers a paid parental leave benefit at all. In this article, we’ll break down the nuances of parental leave — and why we need to do better.
Understanding parental leave
In the United States, parental leave is governed by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). FMLA is a labor law, passed in 1933, that requires covered employers to offer unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons.
Let’s break that down:
- Covered employers include public agencies (like federal, state, and local governments), local education agencies, and private-sector companies who employ 50 or more employees.
- Job-protected leave means that employees who use FMLA leave must be restored to the same or virtually identical position when they return to work. Their health benefits will also be maintained during their leave, just as if they’d continued to work.
How much leave time do new parents receive? For covered employers, FMLA guarantees 12 weeks in a 12-month period for the birth of a child, care of a newborn, or care of a newly adopted or foster child within a year of their placement. (Other FMLA guidelines apply to employees caring for family members with serious health conditions, or military caregiver leave.)
Is FMLA enough?
For many women, FMLA falls short. First of all, it doesn’t cover everyone. Only 56% of US employees are eligible for FMLA. Millions of people are ineligible, usually because their companies or worksites are too small, or they haven’t worked for their employer long enough (at least 12 months, for about 24 hours a week).
Some states offer additional paid leave, and some employers — especially tech startups hungry to attract talent — choose to offer more robust parental leave. Short-term disability insurance can also help fill the gap, by providing all or part of a woman’s salary after she gives birth. But these benefits aren’t the norm, and U.S. law doesn’t require employers to provide them.
Unpaid leave can cause financial strain. To avoid it, many women find themselves saving up sick or vacation time to cover the time they’re on leave. And FMLA is confusing: in a 2020 survey, more than half of employees (56%) reported believing that FMLA covered more reasons for leave than it actually does. (Many of these respondents said they thought a grandparent’s, sibling’s, or grandchild’s serious health condition would be an eligible reason for leave under FMLA. None of these are eligible reasons.)
What now?
If you’re considering starting a family, start by checking your employer’s parental leave policies.
Meanwhile, support is rising for paid leave for new parents. Implementing paid family and medical leave would put the United States on par with most other industrialized countries.
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Ellie Doyle is a writer and content strategist with a background in policy and a passion for promoting equity. She has crafted communications for diverse sectors, from food access to healthcare, beginning as a specialist at a neighborhood health center and later serving as a founding board member and grant writer for the East Boston Community Soup Kitchen.