Yet the United States remains one of the only wealthy countries in the world with no national paid leave policy, and only 13 states and the District of Columbia have laws guaranteeing paid leave. [...] Nearly three-quarters of workers in the United States lack access to paid family leave through their employers (i.e., paid time away from work to, for example, care for a family member with a POLICY BRIEF serious health condition or a new baby); and nearly 60% don’t receive paid medical leave to address GUARANTEE their own serious health conditions through an employer-provided short-term disabilit. [...] PAID For people working in low-paid and part-time jobs—most of whom are women—access is even FAMILY AND more limited; among workers in the lowest quartile of wage earners, for example, only 14% have MEDICAL access to paid family leave. [...] • Allow workers to use the benefit for a full range of caregiving needs, including time for their own serious health conditions, parental leave, leave to care for a loved one’s serious health condition, deployment-related leave, and safe leave for survivors of domestic violence. [...] STATES AND LOCALITIES THAT HAVE PASSED THESE POLICIES • Paid family and medical leave is a proven solution to help families manage work and care while creating a more just and equitable society.
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- Published in
- United States of America
Table of Contents
- GUARANTEE PAID FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE FOR ALL WORKERS 1
- Guarantee at least 12 weeks of paid leave for all workers. 1
- Reimburse all or most of employees wages using a progressive scale 2
- Protect all workers including part-time workers and independent contractors regardless of industry or employer size. 2
- Guarantee that all workers are protected from retaliation for taking leave 2
- Ensure workers can take leave to care for themselves and a broad range of family members 2
- Allow workers to use the benefit for a full range of caregiving needs including time for their own serious health conditions 2
- Paid leave promotes gender equity. 2
- Paid leave helps ensure long-term economic security especially for women. 2
- Paid leave helps combat racial inequality. 2
- Paid family and medical leave contributes to a robust economy. 3
- When new mothers have access to paid leave they experience improvements 3
- Paid safe leave helps survivors of violence keep their jobs and economic security while navigating complicated needs 3
