Insufficiencies of Maternity and Paternity Leave in The United States Christopher J. Woodard Tulsa Tech Author Note Discussing the history behind the apparent lack in mandatory Maternity/Paternity leave in The United States, as well as the reason behind its absence. This paper will also present the advantages and disadvantages associated with mandatory paid leave. Abstract This essay attempts to present not only why paid leave is necessary, but why it is detrimental that America lacks it. The goal was to present its advantages and explain current running theories as to why it is absent in American politics. Upon examination of the history, it becomes apparent that there is no clear cut reason to the lack of Paid leave and perhaps it is …show more content…
However, the U.S does possess the FMLA. FMLA, also known as Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, provides 12 weeks of unpaid leave to any parent with a new born child. Although this is better than no leave at all, many employees and new parents find it very difficult to qualify for this policy or in some cases not an option at all. The problem is that along with the FMLA, there are many caveats connected with it. In order to qualify for the FMLA policy, you have to have either worked in a federal government or state government position for at least one year, or work for a private employer who employees 50 or more employees, and have worked at least 1,250 hours within that year of employment. It become obvious as to why deciding to take this leave would be a significant risk, since this would essentially be a 12-week vacation that you are not paid for. That is assuming that you were able to qualify for the rather stringent requirements associated with the …show more content…
One rather flooring comment made was when a chamber of commerce official stated his firm would” wage all-out war” against proponents of mandatory paid leave. Just because of the reason that business executives don’t believe it would be good for their business. Which was shown to be false by California when the implemented their state ran policies. It is simply against their interests since they don’t want to pay people who are not working. This paired with the belief of the American dream which is coincidentally incompatible with paid leave down to its principles, create another viable reason behind the lack of leave in