U.S. lags in workplace policies for families
February 5, 2007

Only five countries in the world do not guarantee some form of paid maternity leave, according to a new study by Harvard and McGill University researchers: Lesotho, Liberia, Swaziland, Papua New Guinea and … the United States.

The study, released Feb. 1, found that workplace policies for families in the United States are weaker than those of every other high-income countries. The United States, which often lays claim to the title of “highest living standard in the world,” doesn’t always measure up when you actually start looking at the numbers.

The new study should add fuel to a discussion now beginning in Washington DC over the current federal law that provides unpaid family leave. The Bush Administration wants to scale back the benefit to working parents, while some in Congress want to expand the benefit to include paid family leave.

Among the study's findings:

·         Fathers are granted paid paternity leave or paid parental leave in 65 countries, including 31 offering at least 14 weeks of paid leave.

·         At least 107 countries protect working women's right to breast-feed; the breaks are paid in at least 73 of them. The U.S. does not have federal legislation guaranteeing the right to breast-feed at work.

·         At least 145 countries provide paid sick days, with 127 providing a week or more annually. The US provides unpaid leave through the Family and Medical Leave Act, which does not cover all workers; there is no federal law providing for paid sick days.

·         At least 134 countries have laws setting the maximum length of the work week. The US does not have a maximum work week length or a limit on mandatory overtime per week.

In some cases, local governments have taken the lead in guiding the United States toward workplace policies that are more supportive of working families. Recent legislation in California provides a maximum of six weeks of partial pay each year for workers taking time off from work to bond with a newborn baby, adopted or foster child, or to care for a seriously ill parent, child, spouse or registered domestic partner

Most workers will receive approximately 55% of their pre-taxed weekly wage, up to a maximum of $840, while on leave.

The US Labor Department, under pressure from business groups to scale back family leave benefits, is reviewing current regulations. But Congress may be more in the mood of expand the benefit than to restrict.

Sen. Chris Dodd is proposing new legislation to enable workers to take six weeks of paid family leave. Congress also is expected to reconsider the Healthy Families Act, a bill introduced last session that would require employers with at least 15 employees to provide seven paid sick days per year.