From the course: Human Resources: Payroll
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Maternity and paternity leave
From the course: Human Resources: Payroll
Maternity and paternity leave
- The United States is the only industrialized nation in the world that does not have any paid leave for new parents, leaving 80% of the workers in the United States with no paid time off after birth or the adoption of child. In contrast, globally, the average paid maternity leave is 29 weeks, and the average paid paternity leave is 16 weeks. Comparatively, Britain gives 39 weeks of maternal leave. And in Sweden, parental leave can be 480 days split between the two parents. In the US, about half are not even guaranteed unpaid job-protected leave, through the federal FMLA or Family Medical Leave Act. Also, one in 14 workers each year need leave, but they cannot take it because they cannot afford to have unpaid time off. So what happens to these parents who cannot afford to take leave? They're faced with the option to leave the workforce or leave a newborn, and sometimes, in the hands of a stranger. The consequences are…