In the law was amended again to acknowledge that the FMLA has special rules that apply to the way in which eligibility is calculated for airline pilots, flight attendants, and other airline crew members. In the U. Over the last two decades, attempts to increase family leave benefits at the national level have largely failed.
Because Congress has been reluctant to expand the FMLA or enact a new federal-level paid family leave law, efforts to improve family leave coverage have largely been concentrated at the subnational level. Likewise, municipal governments are able to craft policy to suit the local population. The greater leeway subnational governments have in the policy-making process has led to considerable variation in family leave policies among states and cities.
Prior to the passage of the FMLA, nearly forty states had already adopted some type of family and medical leave law, though there was little uniformity among them. Illinois, Ohio, and Virginia provide paid parental leave for state employees.
California, New Jersey, and Rhode Island have successfully implemented employee-funded paid leave policies for virtually all workers; beginning in , New York will join this list. For example, New Jersey employees can take six weeks of leave to care for a new child or family member with a serious illness or injury.
Although Washington State adopted a paid parental leave bill in , the lack of a funding mechanism has delayed implementation indefinitely.
At the municipal level, dozens of cities and counties have implemented paid parental leave for government employees. In April San Francisco made history by adopting the first city-wide paid parental leave law in the United States, which will require employers to bear part of the financial responsibility.
Although there has been significant progress at the subnational level, most family leave advocates also continue to work toward the ultimate goal of a national policy. It does not include job protection, but eligibility extends to all workers who pay into and are eligible for Social Security benefits for at least one year. After being read in the legislature on March 18, , the bill was referred to committee and no further action was taken.
At least in the immediate future, a federal paid family leave law is unlikely. There are a number of reasons that the United States remains the only industrialized country without paid family and medical leave at the national level.
One of the most compelling explanations is that business interests generally oppose such government mandates because they fear a loss of profits and lowered ability to compete, even though evidence shows that such concerns are unfounded. Although strong unions can be a formidable opponent for business, rates of unionization in the United States are relatively low, which has greatly diminished the bargaining power of such organizations. Family leave policies allow women to participate in the labor force more fully, which challenges the traditional gender roles at the center of the male breadwinner model that puts the husband in full-time work outside the home while his wife stays home to care for the family.
It is therefore not surprising that Republicans are much less likely to support paid leave policies than Democrats. Finally, paid leave suffers from a collective action problem. Because many workers are able to construct some type of leave arrangement based on the FMLA, state or municipal laws, and programs provided by employers, it has been difficult to organize a widespread campaign for the expansion of family leave policies in the United States. That is starting to change, however, as family leave has gained increasing attention in recent years.
In Barack Obama became the first president to call for paid family leave in the State of the Union address. As the presidential campaign progresses, paid family leave has emerged as a significant issue. Although it had not been a priority for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in the past, she has incorporated paid leave more fully into her platform as the issue has garnered greater support across the country.
National paid family leave policy can level disparities between wage levels, be more inclusive of all workers, regardless of firm size, work hours, or tenure, and include workers across the country. Working Economics Blog. Posted February 1, at pm by Elise Gould. Figure A. Chart Data Download data The data below can be saved or copied directly into Excel.
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Prohibited acts. Investigative authority. Special rules concerning employees of local educational agencies. Effect on other laws. Effect on existing employment benefits. Encouragement of more generous leave policies.
Effective dates. Leave for certain Senate employees. Leave for certain House employees.
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