Summary

Under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) passed in 1993, employees—both men and women—are entitled to 12 weeks unpaid leave around the time of the birth of a child, as long as they work in firms with at least 50 employees, and meet minimum tenure and working hour requirements. The employer can decide whether they continue to receive their wages or salary during their maternity or paternity leave. The United States is among a very small number of countries in the world without a statutory right to paid maternity leave for employees. The Institute for Women’s Policy Research’s (IWPR) analysis of Working Mother magazine’s “100 Best Companies” finds that almost all of the top companies provide some paid maternity leave and, between 2006 and 2010, these employers dramatically expanded coverage for paternity and adoptive parent leave. Nonetheless, the large majority of the companies listed provide pay for fewer than the 12 weeks of leave guaranteed under the FMLA. Government survey data finds that nationally only 10 percent of private sector employees have access to paid leave. International research suggests that the introduction of a statutory right to paid leave for parents would improve the health and economic situation of women and children and would have a positive effect on the growth prospects of the American economy.