Why the U.S. Offers No Paid Parental Leave
- What: Parental Paid Leave
- When: Pregnancy and newborns
- Why: Stay informed
- Where: NPR
Have a baby on the way and live in the United States? Ever wondered why the U.S. is the only affluent country without paid leave for new parents? If you find yourself scrambling to take care of a tiny human and pay the bills, read this article, “I’m a new dad. Here’s why I’m taking more parental leave than my wife.” from NPR to find out more about this glaring oversight in one of the world’s richest countries.
Greg Rosalsky makes multiple valid points, but none rang home quite as clearly as the fact that most mothers end up staying home to save money on childcare. Despite the fact that their bodies will literally never be the same after giving birth, moms don’t qualify for paid time off. Most workers can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave thanks to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), but that only applies if you’ve worked longer than a year for an employer with more than 50 employees. And even that law only passed in 1993 – a scant thirty years ago.
Whether you read the article for information, education, or as the first step in the fight for equal wages, every parent should know what they face when it comes to taking care of their family and getting paid.
Practically Apparent 
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