When I gave birth to my daughter over a year ago, I worked for an employer that provides no paid parental leave: the U.S. government. I was able to cobble together vacation and sick time with unpaid leave for four months. But I did not feel ready to go back to work, physically or emotionally, until my daughter was closer to seven months old — when she was sitting up, investigating new toys, eating pureed solids, and getting ready to scoot around her daycare room.
When Will the U.S. Finally Act Boldly on Paid Family Leave?
It is time for the United States to join the rest of the developed world in providing paid parental leave. Politicians on both sides of the aisle are finally starting to recognize that the current system places American parents in an impossible position. None of them would provide what I think is adequate: six months of paid leave per parent. But one proposal — the Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act, a bill introduced last February whose primary sponsor was Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Democrat of New York — would be a major step forward. It would create a new office within the Social Security Administration to run a paid leave program funded by a new payroll tax. It would cover all family-related caregiving for up to 12 weeks, so almost all workers contributing to the program could eventually benefit from it. More than 43 million Americans provide unpaid caregiving for elderly parents, ill spouses, new children, and other loved ones — often to the detriment of their household finances.