Today’s Topic: The U.S. still doesn’t have a federal parental leave policy. Why?

The United States stands out for its lack of a federal paid leave policy for new parents, a stark contrast to the vast majority of its peers. While many countries around the world have embraced paid parental leave as a fundamental right, recognizing its importance in promoting family well-being and economic stability, the U.S. is still one of the few developed nations without a national mandate for paid leave. Instead, we rely on a patchwork of state-level programs and employer-provided benefits, leaving many new families without adequate support during a critical transition point.

The minimum amount of leave required under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) rules is 12 weeks, unpaid. There have been efforts to enshrine paid parental leave as a federal policy in the U.S. in recent years, such as one that passed the U.S. House of Representatives as part of the Build Back Better Act, and the Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act, which has been revised for the 118th Congress. Thirteen states and the District of Columbia have passed paid family and medical leave laws, but there is still no federal law ensuring new parents have paid time off to heal from childbirth, bond with their new baby and adjust to their new family structure. 

Since the pandemic, more than 3 million women have left the American labor force, and that distressing figure can, at least in part, be attributed to needing to provide childcare. According to the Center for American Progress, among the lowest 10 percent of U.S. earners, only about 1 in 20 have access to paid family leave, and only 14 percent of part-time and 31 percent of full-time workers have paid family leave. 

How to negotiate with your employer 

The best time to negotiate parental leave with your employer is before you take the job — and before you’re expecting. Once you’re pregnant, you don’t have much wiggle room, and finding a new job may prove difficult: Even if you find a new job with great maternity benefits, many jobs require you to be there a year before you qualify for paid parental leave. And of course, though it’s illegal to discriminate against hiring pregnant women, biases still exist.

Use the conversation as a means to gauge company culture. If a potential employer balks at the first mention of parental leave and you know you may want to have a child while you’re working there, take it as a sign that it may not be the workplace for you.

If you’re already working there and you’re planning to negotiate paid family leave, follow these suggestions:

Come armed with a proposal 

Once you have an understanding of your legal rights (beyond the FMLA, check to see what your state and local laws say about parental leave), ask about the company’s policy, and make sure you have a clear understanding of it. If you know you’ll want something different from what they offer, prepare a clear and thoughtful proposal outlining your leave requirements, including the start and end dates of your leave, whether the leave you’re requesting is paid or unpaid, and any logistical arrangements to cover your responsibilities during your absence.

Be flexible

Be realistic and understand you may have to compromise. If you can’t take 20 weeks of full-time, paid leave, can you agree to an alternate arrangement? Ask about remote work options or phased return-to-work schedules.

Underscore your value

Emphasize your dedication to your work. Elaborate on your commitment to returning to your role after your leave, and outline the value you’ve brought to your company. Come ready with statistics and facts to back up your contributions, how a leave will leave you feeling refreshed and ready to tackle new challenges, and be prepared to show your employer how your absence can be managed effectively with little disruption to the organization.

What happens if you have delivery complications? 

Some states offer two to four weeks in addition to their state leave programs if you experience pregnancy complications. Right now, this only applies to the handful of states that have specifically implemented such policies. For example, Washington state gives 12 weeks for parental leave or family care and 12 weeks for personal medical leave — and then an additional two to four weeks to people who have complications related to pregnancy, up to 16 or 18 combined weeks total in one year. In addition, Washington allows parents grieving the loss of a pregnancy to take seven days of leave without a waiting period. So…consider a move to Tacoma? 

Short-term disability: How does it work if you’re pregnant?

Most state laws that cover parental and family caregiving leave also include temporary disability insurance to cover paid personal medical leave.

If your state or employer doesn't offer short-term disability, you can consider purchasing a private policy through an insurance broker or agent before you’re pregnant. However, the cost can be high, and you'll need to go through an underwriting process where the insurance company evaluates your eligibility based on factors like your age and any preexisting conditions. Some estimates say you can expect to pay between one and three percent of your annual gross income. 

How did we get here?

It may come as a surprise, but the  absence of a comprehensive federal paid leave policy in the U.S. is closely connected to the Axis powers’ surrender to the Allies in 1945. 

In 1919, a movement toward paid family leave began to build with the International Congress of Working Women, which included many American women and  demanded more fair labor rights in the wake of World War I. The group declared that 12 weeks of paid maternity leave was “a medical necessity and social right.” 

Over the next decades, many European and Latin American countries began putting policies in place to address the group’s concerns. But after World War II, different countries had different priorities. Europe needed more babies after the devastation of its war-torn nations’ populations, and it sold paid parental leave as an economic benefit to rebuild workforces and help its faltering economies. 

By contrast, the U.S. was doing all right after World War II — thanks to immigration bolstering our workforce and the war taking place mostly beyond our borders, we didn’t need economic policies to incentivize childbirth. 

As its relationship with the Soviet Union descended into Cold War brinkmanship, the U.S. doubled down on avoiding any policies that might be labeled socialist — or even worse, communist — which made it more difficult to foster support for social welfare policies or socialized medicine. 

Instead, American policy-making has generally favored a more market-driven approach, with an emphasis on individualism and minimal government intervention in business practices. This ethos has weighed heavily on the debate on paid leave, where concerns about potential economic burdens on businesses and resistance to expanding government regulations have often overshadowed arguments for the social and economic benefits of paid parental leave. Although 82% of Americans support paid parental leave, only 47% support government funding for it. As a result, we’re still grappling with the challenge of balancing economic concerns with the pressing needs of families.

Paid parental leave is still a beast for Americans in states without mandatory policies in place. But knowing your rights, communicating with your employer, and advocating for family-friendly policies at federal, state and local levels can meaningfully help parents of all kinds.