Tell Me Again How Progressive the US is?
August 29, 2012 in Feminism | Tags: Feminism, Materinity Leave, Social Justice, US, Women | by The Arbourist
‘Nuff said.
‘Nuff said.
Your opinions…
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
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5 comments
August 29, 2012 at 6:42 am
writerdood
I assume you mean maternity leave imposed by the government?
Most businesses, at least in my area, do have maternity leave (and more recently they’ve been adding a couple weeks of paternity leave into the mix). We’ve had a couple women use it where I work. Usually they’re gone for about six weeks, then they come back part time for a few months before going back on a regular schedule again.
I do agree, though, that leaving it up to private sector to determine this is the wrong thing to do. That means that competitive jobs will offer it because they’re trying to attract employees, but in situations where there are many potential workers and few jobs (which is typical right now) then there’s no incentive for the employer to even offer it.
There should be SOME form of minimum maternity leave. Are you sure there isn’t any? Perhaps it’s mandated by the state governments and not the federal governments?
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August 29, 2012 at 9:03 am
The Arbourist
Hi WD,
I’m guessing the infographic refers to government mandated maternity leave. As a Canadian resident I’m sure about the Canadian number. :) Yea Canada!
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August 29, 2012 at 9:50 am
writerdood
I found some info here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_and_Medical_Leave_Act_of_1993
It appears the US does provide a minimum maternity leave, but the federal mandate only requires it for companies with 50 or more employees. It’s also somewhat different between states, with some states making it better than others. The time off is 12 weeks, and the employee must have worked for the company for 1,250 hours within the last 12 months to qualify.
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August 29, 2012 at 10:35 am
The Arbourist
The article and references from the poster I put up.
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August 29, 2012 at 10:39 am
The Intransigent One
FMLA just allows for UNpaid leave and they have to take you back to the same or similar position when you come back. All these other countries, maternity leave is PAID. Not sure of the details since I’m CFBC, I think here in Canada you get EI (employment insurance), PLUS your employer has to take you back when you return to the workforce. And in two-parent families, the parents can split up that year. For example, when my nephew was born, my Sister-in-Law took the first six months off, and then my brother took the next six months. They could also have chosen to both of them stay home together for six months, or only one of them to take off a whole year.
Besides being good for kids/families, it’s actually also really good for young people entering the workforce, because it means that there are always long/temporary positions needing to be filled, of people who are generally towards the beginning of their careers. So you can come in and cover a mat leave, and minimum you get some experience for your resume, but the best case scenario (when the economy is good) is you convince the employer you’re awesome and indispensable, and they find a way to keep you on after the parent comes back. That’s how I got my job.
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