The Energetic Push for Paid Leave in the U.S. and Why it Matters to Maternal Health

In 1993 the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was passed into law, marking the first national unpaid leave policy. The law, which applies to employers with 50 or more employees, stipulates eligible workers can take up to 12 weeks of FMLA leave to care for a newborn or newly adopted child; to care for a spouse, child or parent with a serious medical condition; to recover from a serious health condition themselves; or to take military family leave.

What was once viewed as a radical initiative 28 years ago, is now seen as a woefully inadequate policy that does not provide the needed support for millions of individuals and families.

Why Change is Needed

Although the FMLA provided job protection for some workers, eligibility standards and the unpaid nature of the law results in fewer than 60 percent of workers utilizing leave. Recent research shows that up to 23 percent of employed mothers return to their workplace within ten days of giving birth because of their inability to afford to take any more time off. Further, without a leave policy that is paid, 30 percent of working women leave their jobs after giving birth.

Beyond the gender disparity in leave, women of color are especially harmed by unpaid leave. For example, 71 percent of Hispanic workers, 67 percent of American Indian and Alaskan Native workers, 61 percent of Black workers, and 54 percent of Asian American and Pacific Islander workers are either ineligible or cannot afford to take FMLA leave.

States Have Tried to Fill the Gaps

As some states across the country have instituted richer paid leave laws/programs including California, New Jersey, Rhode Island, New York, Washington, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Oregon, and the District of Columbia, it has afforded the opportunity to research the positive impact paid leave policies have in the U.S. The research has illustrated that paid leave is associated with:

• Improved mental health of mothers and children, including a decrease in postpartum maternal depression, and decreased intimate partner violence.

• Beneficial effects for the physical health of mothers and children, including a decrease in infant mortality and in mother and infant rehospitalizations.

• Increase in breastfeeding, including enhanced initiations and duration.

Additionally, another study showed increasing the length of maternity leave from under 8 weeks to 8 to 12 weeks showed the most improvement in mental health. With a one-week increase in length of leave, depressive symptoms were shown to be reduced by 6-7%.

What’s Happening at the Federal Level Now?

Advocacy organizations have had their door widened to push the paid leave conversation as individuals and families have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. In July 2020, nearly 1 in 3 mothers aged 25-44 were not working due to child care issues. Before the pandemic, women of color were already facing hardships as they’re more likely than white women to face difficult choices between caregiving and work given low wages or status as the primary breadwinner. Without a paid leave program, these disparities will continue to persist and worsen over time.

More employers got a taste for paid leave as the Families First Coronavirus Response Act provided paid emergency family leave in certain circumstances and paid sick leave for individuals impacted by COVID-19. The law provides individuals with 12 weeks of job-protected leave either onsite or remotely due to lack of child care access. The first 10 days of leave can be unpaid, but the remaining leave must be paid out at two-thirds of the individual's regular rate of pay. For the sick leave provisions, employers must provide up to 80 hours of paid sick leave if an employee has been ordered to quarantine, has received a COVID-19 diagnosis or is caring for someone who has the diagnosis. These provisions took effect on April 1, 2021, and expire on December 31, 2021.

The FAMILY Act Continues to Lead the Way (it’s been waiting for this moment for 10 years!)

First introduced in 2013, the Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMILY) Act, led by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), puts forth a comprehensive federal paid family and medical leave policy utilizing the results from state models. The FAMILY Act drastically broadens eligibility by modeling the program after Social Security Disability Insurance coverage rules, which cover 94 percent of workers—roughly 176 million workers in 2021—and offers 12 weeks of paid leave. The financing of this national program would be done through a modest payroll tax, which has large support from both sides of the political aisle as this would split the cost between employees and employers.

Although the legislation has not advanced over the last several Congressional sessions, the 116th Congress did mark the first time a Republican representative joined in support of the bill.

This Congress, the House Ways and Means Committee took up the issue of paid leave, by holding a legislative hearing in May highlighting the release of the Building an Economy for Families Act. The bill would provide universal paid family and medical leave, guaranteed access to child care, and permanent extensions to the Child Tax Credit (CTC), Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), and Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC) that were passed in the American Rescue Plan. The paid family and medical leave provisions would allow for 12 weeks of paid leave for all workers through a new program available through the U.S. Department of Treasury.

This summer, the Paid Leave for All campaign has kicked off a cross-country bus tour to raise awareness of this issue. The tour will include 14 city stops around the U.S. to urge lawmakers to pass a national paid leave policy. The 117th Congress provides a unique opportunity to make this a reality through a procedural device called budget reconciliation, which only requires a simple majority in the U.S. Senate to pass. Senate Democrats released their draft budget reconciliation bill earlier this week, and it includes a provision to create a national paid family leave program, in which the government would pay part of an individual’s salary for up to 12 weeks of family leave. Lawmakers are expected to vote on this reconciliation bill later this year.

You can ask your member of Congress to support the Family Act by clicking here.

Related Blog Post:
Mom Congress Issues Child Care & Paid Leave Recommendations to Congress