Cincinnati Babies

poll about family leave policies

What do you think is "fair" for the country to offer in terms of parental leave? Maternity leave only? Paid or unpaid? Any paternal leave?

This link has a table of what other countries offer: https://www.catalyst.org/publication/240/family-leave-us-canada-and-global

This is another interesting article, if you're into this kind of thing: https://www.cepr.net/index.php/publications/reports/parental-leave-policies-in-21-countries:-assessing-generosity-and-gender-equality/
Charlie 8.06.08
Emeline 5.28.13

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Re: poll about family leave policies

  • Links aren't working, copy and paste
    Charlie 8.06.08
    Emeline 5.28.13

    My Blog

     image

    Post-Baby PRs
    Esri 5K 7.16.2014 - 21:30
    Heart Half Marathon 3.16.2014 - 1:43:30
    Canton City Marathon 9.8.14 - 3:30:56
  • I think some amount of paternal leave should be offered.
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  • I think at least 6 months should be offered with some amount of pay (50-75%).  I think a couple of weeks should be offered for paternal leave.  I'm lucky to work for a rare company that lets me take a year off, unpaid, but I'll have a job when I go back.  I would have had a hard time putting him in daycare already though by about 6 months I could probably do it.

    And I pay 30% of my income to taxes, that's not much lower than the 40% Canadians pay and Canada covers healthcare too. I would be willing to pay a bit more to have paid fmla time.  If you are seriously ill (or someone in your immediate family is) and you need to take fmla time, not being paid is a big hit since you likely have medical bills. 

  • As I was reading the first article above, I was a little unclear on what is considered "parental" leave.  I understand maternity and paternity, what constitutes "parental" and how is it different?

     

    For one thing, I think it's a crock that FMLA is only mandated for companies with over 50 employees.  I do think that covers a vast majority, but I think ALL women should be entitled to a fair period of leave after a baby is born.  I do think 12-16 weeks is fair, but the unfair part comes down to pay.  To be forced to use all of your vacation/sick time concurrent with FMLA leave really puts you in a bind, especially if your baby is born early in the year.  What if you, or your baby, or spouse, becomes ill?  If time off is required for illness, such as the week Justin needed for the stomach virus, I'd hate to risk job loss because I was required to use all of my other leave just to deliver him.

     

    I also think that fathers should be entitled to at least 2-4 weeks.  Tom took 3 weeks when Justin was born and it was wonderful.  They are just as sleep-deprived as the mom in those early days.

    Justin Thomas joined us on 8.4.07
    Tyler Anthony arrived on 9.21.09
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    The Chronicles of Justin and Tyler
  • I don't know that it would be feasible for the U.S. to adopt a year-long leave policy like Canada, but I do think that there should be improvements upon what's currently offered. I agree with Katie that FMLA should be expanded to cover all employers, and I think there should at the very least be a Federal STD policy (like some of the states offer) that provides a portion of your pay for 6-8 weeks.
  • I do like the idea of a lengthy maternity leave, but I can also see how that might be abused by some, and lead to social problems directly related to those who might keep having one child after another to get paid to stay home.  That said, I think a 16 week paid leave would be nice.  We were well settled at 16 weeks, and returning to work would have been in good timing at that point.  I only had 6 weeks with full pay and another 3 at half pay.  I went back at 12 weeks. 


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