Family and Medical Leave

Family and Medical Leave

The United States is the only developed nation that does not provide paid family leave to its citizens. The U.S. doesn’t even mandate paid maternity leave; the only other nations that don’t offer such basic support include Lesotho, Liberia, Papua New Guinea, and Swaziland. After the passage of the Federal Family Medical Leave Act of 1993, the U.S. requires larger employers to offer unpaid family leave to their workers. As of this writing,  California and New Jersey are the only two states that offer paid family leave. 

Commentary

Chamber of Commerce Was Wrong About Family and Medical Leave Law

February 04, 2013

Chamber of Commerce, Wrong Again

May 19, 2011
Family Leave: mother and child

Another Job Killer Lie Exposed

January 21, 2011

Cry Wolf Quotes

This is why NJBIA and its member companies have been fighting passage of a paid family leave mandate in the Legislature. Despite its good intentions, the mandate would greatly impair the ability of employers to operate their businesses and meet their customers' needs. NJBIA members have sent 50,000 messages to legislators and the governor opposing it. Yet, state policymakers seem to be oblivious. We are teetering on the edge of recession, we are losing jobs, and they want to impose a huge new mandate that has been adopted by only one other state, California...What New Jersey needs now, more than ever, is to have its government leadership focus fiercely on what can be done to strengthen the state's business climate and create new jobs. Businesses are tired of elected officials who say they support a growing economy and small business, only to take actions that contradict their words, like voting for paid family leave.

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Philip Kirschner, president of the New Jersey Business & Industry Association. The Newark Star-Ledger.

On that family leave bill, I think that it would impose a burden upon businesses, including small businesses.... You would be telling businesses, through that act, that they are required to bring temporaries in, go through a training cycle, and lose the continuity that is so important to making a business function well. It has the effect of making it more expensive for them to do business. More expensive per employee, more expensive per job. The business can only defend itself by offering fewer jobs. That's the only way they can pay for it. It is a job killer….It makes it more expensive to hire people, so businesses say we won't hire people.

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Representative Ernest Istook (R-OK). Daily Oklahoman.
10/25/1992 | Full Details | Law(s): Family Medical Leave Act

This disturbing trend is nothing short of Europeanization -- a polite term for socialism.

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Representative Cass Ballenger (R-NC). States News Service.
11/18/1987 | Full Details | Law(s): Family Medical Leave Act

There is definitely a major disconnect between our leaders in Trenton and the people who pay taxes and employ residents. Legislators and the governor seem to think our residents and employers have deep pockets and unlimited resources to fund their bloated bureaucracy, when that is far from the case. This madness has to end.

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Jim Leonard, senior vice president of Chamber of Commerce. The Newark Star-Ledger.

Evidence

Backgrounders & Briefs

The Work, Family and Equity Index: How Does the United States Measure Up?

The Project on Global Working Families is a study that measures worldwide social safety nets.

Resources

Institute for Women’s Policy Research is a prominent think tank that is largely focused on American women's issues. This covers everything from pay equity to welfare reform to domestic violence.

MomsRising focuses on "bringing important motherhood and family issues."

The National Partnership for Women and Families leads the national fight for paid sick days and paid family and medical leave.