Family and Medical Leave Backgrounders & Briefs

Paid Leave in the States

03/01/2009

Sarah Fass. National Center for Children in Poverty. March 2009. 

“Paid Leave in the States” gives a broad overview of the issue, providing sections on why paid family leave is good (and increasingly necessary) policy. It also provides an essential breakdown of where things stand at the level of national and state policy, along with policy recommendations. 

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Parental Leave Policies in 21 Countries: Assessing Generosity and Gender Equality

09/01/2008

Rebecca Ray, Janet C. Gornick, and John Schmitt. Center for Economic and Policy Research. September 2008.

“Parental Leave Policies in 21 Countries: Assessing Generosity and Gender Equality”, finds that the U.S. maintains the least generous family leave policy of any of the 21 “rich” countries surveyed, including markedly poorer nations like Spain, Ireland, and Greece.

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

01/01/2007

Jody Heymann, Alison Earle and Jeffrey Hayes. Project on Global Working Families and the Institute for Health and Social Policy. 2007.

“The Work, Family and Equity Index: How Does the United States Measure Up?” provides a damning window into our dysfunctional social safety net. “Of the 173 countries studied, 168 countries offer guaranteed leave with income to women in connection with childbirth; 98 of these countries offer 14 or more weeks paid leave…the U.S. guarantees no paid leave for mothers in any segment of the work force, leaving it in the company of only 4 other nations: Lesotho, Liberia, Papua New Guinea, and Swaziland.”

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Health, Absense, Disability, and Presenteeism Cost Estimates of Certain Physical and Mental Health Conditions Affecting U.S. Employers

04/01/2004

Ron Goetzel, Stacey Long, et all. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. April 2004.

This study attempts to show the physical and mental impact of “presenteeism”—when a worker goes on the job while ill: "Health, Absense, Disability, and presenteeism Cost Estimates of Certain Physical and Mental Health Conditions Affecting U.S. Employers”. They estimate this costs the national economy $180 billion a year.

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