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Understanding Family and Medical Leave

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Understanding Family and Medical Leave


A long time ago, but not in a galaxy far ... far away, a child was born who would change my life forever. That was the birth of my daughter. I had a decent job, with a good complement of benefits. Knowing her birth was around the corner, I was able to save up some paid time off (commonly known as PTO) to cover a week or so out of the office, transitioning to the new life as a Dad. But one thing that I did not know about was the passage of the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). According to Wikipedia, "The FMLA was intended "to balance the demands of the workplace with the needs of families."[2] The Act allows eligible employees to take up to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period to attend to the serious health condition of the employee, parent, spouse or child, or for pregnancy or care of a newborn child, or for adoption or foster care of a child. In order to be eligible for FMLA leave, an employee must have been at the business at least 12 months, and worked at least 1,250 hours over the past 12 months, and work at a location where the company employs 50 or more employees within 75 miles. The FMLA covers both public- and private-sector employees, but certain categories of employees are excluded, including elected officials and their personal staff members.[3]" (2). Fortunately, my employer at the time allowed for employees to take off, with pay, in the event of a newborn child. Each company has different policies concerning the birth of a child. The Pew Research center states that "About eight-in-ten Americans (82%) say mothers should have paid maternity leave, while fewer (69%) support paid paternity leave. And those who favor paid maternity and paternity leave say mothers should receive considerably more time off than fathers (a median of 8.6 weeks off for mothers vs. 4.3 weeks for fathers). There is also broader support for paid leave for workers dealing with their own serious health condition (85% say workers should be paid in these situations) than there is for those caring for a family member who is seriously ill (67% favor paid leave for these workers)." (1)

Even though everyone is covered by FMLA at the federal level, it's the policies of the specific companies which implement the FMLA which cause problems. The Pew Research Center interviewed people in two different surveys about the topic. The bottom line is: "The survey finds that 64% of those who took leave in the past two years say they received at least some pay during their time off. A large majority of them (79%) say that some or part of that pay came from vacation days, sick leave or paid time off (PTO) they had accrued prior to their leave. Only 20% of those who got paid – or 13% of all leave-takers– say they had access to family and medical leave benefits paid by their employer." (1)

The biggest discrepancy between people who take FMLA leave (such as maternity/paternity) has to do with income: "Middle- and higher-income leave takers are much more likely than their lower-income counterparts to have access to paid time off – whether through a specific employer-provided paid leave benefit or by using accrued time off. Six-in-ten leave takers with household incomes between $30,000 and $74,999, and an even higher share (74%) of those with incomes of $75,000 or more, say they received at least some pay when they took time off from work for family or medical reasons. In contrast, only 37% of leave takers with annual household incomes under $30,000 say they received pay. Many lower-income leave takers say they faced difficult financial tradeoffs during their time away from work, including 48% among those who took unpaid or partially paid parental leave who say they went on public assistance in order to cover lost wages or salary." (1)

Here are some highlights from the survey:

  • Most supporters of paid leave say pay should come from employers rather than from state or federal government
  • Most see at least some benefits for employers that provide paid leave
  • About seven-in-ten fathers who take paternity leave return to work within two weeks
  • Many leave takers take on debt or use savings in order to cover lost wages
  • Views of gender and caregiving are related to support for paid leave for new fathers

Conclusion

Having a newborn baby changes you in far-reaching and profound ways. Just like with the Mom, Dad's need to be there and bond with their kids. This is not simply to create a strong family unit, but the workload, schedule adjustments, are immense. At the Federal level, there is a law getting Dads and Moms the time off they need and continue to have a job, but the policies implemented at the company level don't do enough to start their baby's life in the right direction. In many cases, especially if you're part of the gig economy or only work part-time, these protections simply are not there. Creative solutions have to be employed to ensure a person doesn't go bankrupt or lose their job because they have a child. Thank you for reading the blog. If you have any comments, leave them in the area below.



























Bibliography
(1) "Americans Widely Support Paid Family and Medical Leave but Differ Over Specific Policies" Pew Research Center (March 23, 2017), http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2017/03/23/americans-widely-support-paid-family-and-medical-leave-but-differ-over-specific-policies/

(2) Family Medical Leave Act (1993), Wikipedia,  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_and_Medical_Leave_Act_of_1993


This post first appeared on Nick Stockton: Be The, please read the originial post: here

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Understanding Family and Medical Leave

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