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Paid family leave in the United States: a primer on working family trends and paid family leave
Paid family leave in the United States: a primer on working family trends and paid family leave
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Contributor(s):
- Bipartisan Policy Center, issuing body.
- Publication:
- Washington, D.C. : Bipartisan Policy Center, February 2020
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Family Leave -- statistics & numerical data
Family Leave -- trends
Employment -- trends
United States - Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- In little more than a generation, profound social and economic shifts have transformed the lives of working Americans and created new challenges for American families. A confluence of trends--the rising participation of women in the labor force; an increasing number of single-parent and dual worker households; the growth of non-traditional employment; higher living costs, especially in many urban areas; unaffordable or inaccessible quality childcare; and the loss of stable, high-quality, middle-wage jobs--has greatly increased the difficulty of balancing work and family commitments for millions of Americans. Because it is no longer possible for many to support a family on a single income, far fewer households have the flexibility to forego paid employment to meet caregiving demands. Without paid family leave, many Americans, when faced with a significant caregiving challenge--whether because of the birth or adoption of a child; the need to care for a young child or elderly relative, or in some instances both; or their own medical illness or disability--find themselves in an untenable situation. They can't meet their caregiving responsibilities while working, but they also can't afford to take unpaid leave or lose their job. Not surprisingly, these trade-offs are especially difficult for low-income households. Passage of the landmark Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) in 1993 was prompted by a recognition that the paradigm of a two-adult household, in which just one adult worked full-time and one adult was available to meet family care responsibilities, was changing rapidly. By the early 1990s, nearly three-quarters of women between the ages of 25 and 54 were in the workforce--up from about 50 percent in 1970, while the share of women with children who worked outside the home had grown even more dramatically. But the FMLA guarantees only job-protected leave--it does not provide or mandate pay while on leave. The FMLA also covers only a portion (approximately 60 percent) of the workforce. Moreover, according to the most recent national FMLA survey, about 46 percent of workers who needed leave, but didn't take it, reported not taking leave because they couldn't afford to lose income. As a result, these workers might have been unable to provide care at a critical time, such as in the weeks following the birth of new child, or they might have delayed their own, much-needed medical care. A quarter century after the FMLA was adopted, it has become clear that current leave policies are not keeping up with the realities that confront millions of working American families. Throughout this paper, we refer to three types of paid family leave benefits: (1) Parental leave--time to bond with a newborn, newly adopted, or newly fostered child. (2) Family caregiver leave--time to care for a seriously ill or injured family member. (3) Medical leave--time to recover from a serious health issue that makes the employee unable to perform the functions of his or her position. Approximately 19 percent of American workers are covered by a defined paid family leave benefit according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). These benefits are offered by employers. Significantly more Americans have access to medical leave through short-term disability policies, but these policies cover only time needed to take care of one's own qualifying medical condition--they do not cover family leave or parental leave for fathers or non-birth mothers. Access to all types of paid leave is lower for Black and Latino, less-educated, lower-paid, and part-time workers. The three sections that follow describe the factors that are elevating the need for paid family leave for American workers. The first section describes recent changes in the U.S. workforce and discusses how these changes interact with caregiving needs to create new challenges for families. The next section outlines the case for instituting a national paid family leave policy as a way to improve economic productivity and labor force participation, increase families' financial security, promote gender equity in the home and workforce, and support children's early development. The third section summarizes current state and federal policy on paid family leave, reviews recent proposals to strengthen leave policies, and discusses public attitudes on this topic, especially among millennials.
- Copyright:
- The National Library of Medicine believes this item to be in the public domain. (More information)
- Extent:
- 1 online resource (1 PDF file (38 pages))
- Illustrations:
- Illustrations
- NLM Unique ID:
- 101769477 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101769477