Should there be paid maternity/paternity leave in the US?

[Adelaide]

Should the United States be focusing on trying to ensure mothers and fathers have paid leave? Why or why not?





Here is a chart from the Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/14/parental-leave-around-the-world_n_6464910.html) that shows which countries are providing a lot of leave for mothers versus those who are the worst for providing leave (at the link there is more information, including amount of leave for fathers):

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[FindersKeepers]

I voted "No," and not because paid maternity leave isn't a perk. It is. I just feel that it should be something agreed upon by an employer and employee.

It's really not the business of government to ensure that mothers/fathers have time off to care for their young -- at the expense of their employers.

I've known many employers who were loathe to hire women of childbearing age because they feared they would get pregnant and either quit or have to be temporarily replaced, which involved training another person to do that job in thier absence.

When an employer is forced to give an employee paid leave, not only must that employer continue to pay the wages of the person who is not working, that employer must also pay the wages of the replacement. That makes employers leery of hiring women of childbearing age.

If a woman/man wants maternity leave, they need to take that into consideration when job hunting.

[resister]

I voted "No," and not because paid maternity leave isn't a perk. It is. I just feel that it should be something agreed upon by an employer and employee.

It's really not the business of government to ensure that mothers/fathers have time off to care for their young -- at the expense of their employers.

I've known many employers who were loathe to hire women of childbearing age because they feared they would get pregnant and either quit or have to be temporarily replaced, which involved training another person to do that job in thier absence.

When an employer is forced to give an employee paid leave, not only must that employer continue to pay the wages of the person who is not working, that employer must also pay the wages of the replacement. That makes employers leery of hiring women of childbearing age.

If a woman/man wants maternity leave, they need to take that into consideration when job hunting.
This a great point. Gov. can mandate employer policies but how they react.

[DGUtley]

We give it. 8 or 12 weeks, I'm not sure. I don't know what other law firms do nor do I care. I assume most do, but I know firms that don't give bonuses or pay family health policies, which we do. I'm generally against Mordor imposing something on its subjects but responsible companies should do it.

[Evmetro]

I feel that it the financial responsibility of the parents. They chose to bring a baby into the world, now they need to take responsibility for it.

[Peter1469]

I am against the government telling businesses to provide this sort of thing. Some businesses may think it is a good recruitment / retention tool. Others may go out of business if they were forced into it.

If anything have welfare type benefits for the short term if parents want to take maternity / paternity leave and their employers don't offer it.

So I vote none of the above.

[FindersKeepers]

We give it. 8 or 12 weeks, I'm not sure. I don't know what other law firms do nor do I care. I assume most do, but I know firms that don't give bonuses or pay family health policies, which we do. I'm generally against Mordor imposing something on its subjects but responsible companies should do it.

Your firm, by offering that leave, makes itself more attractive to employees, hence, it will draw better candidates seeking work.

[Chris]

I voted "No," and not because paid maternity leave isn't a perk. It is. I just feel that it should be something agreed upon by an employer and employee.

It's really not the business of government to ensure that mothers/fathers have time off to care for their young -- at the expense of their employers.

I've known many employers who were loathe to hire women of childbearing age because they feared they would get pregnant and either quit or have to be temporarily replaced, which involved training another person to do that job in thier absence.

When an employer is forced to give an employee paid leave, not only must that employer continue to pay the wages of the person who is not working, that employer must also pay the wages of the replacement. That makes employers leery of hiring women of childbearing age.

If a woman/man wants maternity leave, they need to take that into consideration when job hunting.



I was going to say similar. I'm all for maternity leave, and there should be social pressure on companies to provide it, but not government mandates.



Unsure about paternity leave, unsure why that's needed.

[patrickt]

I think anyone who doesn't want to work for any reason for any length of time should be allowed a great lifestyle with people who are just eager to work supporting them.

Why shouldn't people who want to work support people who don't want to work?

[patrickt]

Your firm, by offering that leave, makes itself more attractive to employees, hence, it will draw better candidates seeking work.
You firm, by offering that benefit, will attract people who are planning on taking advantage of it, a lot, and their lawyer.

[Archer0915]

NO! People want to bitch about equal pay and blah blah...

Smokers should not get smoke breaks unless everyone gets a break as often as they do!

So maternity leave? NO! How about we say the average is 3 kids and we assign a number of days for that... Now everyone can get those days! Or some people can just make less money than others and quit complaining.

[Cletus]

We give it. 8 or 12 weeks, I'm not sure. I don't know what other law firms do nor do I care. I assume most do, but I know firms that don't give bonuses or pay family health policies, which we do. I'm generally against Mordor imposing something on its subjects but responsible companies should do it.

Why?

[Archer0915]

I hire a person to do a job, that person doing their job is what I rely on to pay the bills and to pay them. If they are not there the job is not done forcing me to hire another that may be better or worse than them. if they are better I may want to replace the person that was out. If they are not as good it will cost me money...

Why do some people make more than others? Because they can cost me more money than others.

[Archer0915]

My wife went out on maternity leave and she was payroll manager (among other things) at a college. She was replaced but she had a job if she wanted it. She chose to not accept the position offered and went elsewhere. That is how it is.

[Peter1469]

This is one of those things that big business can afford, embrace, and lobby congress to mandate knowing it may put their small business competitors out of business.

A solution is to have separate business codes for big and small businesses. Small businesses are largely regulated by the free market while big businesses tend to distort markets.

[AeonPax]

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Mandatory (US law) paid maternity leave? I'd have to oppose that. As someone who is intimately knowledgeable with the finances of the company I work for, that's a job killer for sure. I say this having taken two leaves myself from work, for child birth. That being said, this is an excellent idea.

[FindersKeepers]

You firm, by offering that benefit, will attract people who are planning on taking advantage of it, a lot, and their lawyer.

Good benefits attract job candidates. That's a given. Will they attract unscrupulous folks, too? Maybe, but the employer still has the final say as to who is hired. The more candidates an employer has for a specific job - the more likely he is to find quality candidates.

Employers should be free to offer benefits as they see fit.

[kilgram]

I was going to say similar. I'm all for maternity leave, and there should be social pressure on companies to provide it, but not government mandates.



Unsure about paternity leave, unsure why that's needed.
Because fathers also need time to be with their children. But obviously, that is too complex for a conservative mind and I am not going to spend more time explaining that.

[Evmetro]

Children are a big commitment, and a big financial responsibility. When people have unprotected sex, we are essentially entering into a contract for the next 18 years and nine months, at a minimum. With this in mind, we need to be responsible for acquiring our own birth control, and we are responsible to make sure our kids have proper child care.

If we can negotiate a paid maternity leave with an employer, that would be great. Unless the employer is one of the two who had unprotected sex though, the employer should have absolutely no responsibility when somebody takes on such a serious commitment as having a child. If the employee is valuable enough, the employer should be free to offer incentives to retain the employee. Mandatory employer paid maternity leave is a concept that is opposite of taking responsibility for one's own action and decisions. In fact, it even opens the door to having an employee take a job with the intention of getting pregnant and forcing responsibility onto the employer.

[Chris]

Because fathers also need time to be with their children. But obviously, that is too complex for a conservative mind and I am not going to spend more time explaining that.


Wow, great ad hom! Have you been practicing?

I worked yet managed to find time to spend with my son evenings, weekends, did Scouts, basketball, little league with him.

Again, though, what I support is what employer and employee can agree to voluntarily.

[kilgram]

Wow, great ad hom! Have you been practicing?

I worked yet managed to find time to spend with my son evenings, weekends, did Scouts, basketball, little league with him.

Again, though, what I support is what employer and employee can agree to voluntarily.
I have a good master.

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[Peter1469]

What is a good master.

I never had a master. Not in the military and not in civilian life. I would be a very poor slave. Spartacus poor.

[kilgram]

What is a good master.

I never had a master. Not in the military and not in civilian life. I would be a very poor slave. Spartacus poor.
Sorry. A good teacher.

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[NapRover]

I'm not for mandatory anything. Unions can bargain for it, companies can offer it to attract workers they want. I'm ok with government jobs offering it, but I'm opposed to Uncle Sam offering any pay or other benefits that are above the median benefits of the private sector equivalent.
The exception is for Vets, I'd give them whatever they need.

[FindersKeepers]

Because fathers also need time to be with their children. But obviously, that is too complex for a conservative mind and I am not going to spend more time explaining that.

Do you think it would be a good idea for those fathers to start their own businesses so they could just take off when they wanted to? Of course, they'd probably lose some money, but, I mean -- it's their kid after all, so better they lose the money not working than their employer lose. Right?

[Subdermal]

Employers should be free to offer such a perk as a condition of employment, if they want to, or if they believe it gives them the ability to attract more appealing employees.

The Government should have nothing to do with this, as they should have nothing to do with most things.

[Adelaide]

No one seems to have brought up having the government pay for it. Here is how maternity leaves works in Canada:


Parental leave benefits are paid out by the federal government through Employment Insurance (or QPIP if you live in Quebec).

In general, you must have worked 600 insurable hours in the year before you claim parental leave benefits in order to qualify for them. You also must have contributed to Employment Insurance (EI) during that same year.

If you are self-employed you can choose to pay into EI. You must do so at least one year before you apply for parental leave benefits. The Service Canada website details the most up to date information on self-employment and qualifying for benefits.

As for how much you will be given for parental leave, the basic formula is 55 per cent of your average weekly earnings up to a maximum amount. That amount is set each year, so you will need to check with Service Canada to find out the exact figure. For a basic example, say the maximum amount of yearly earnings is $45,900. With that limit the maximum amount you could receive for parental leave benefits would be $485 per week.




From: What you need to know about paternal leave and EI in Canada (http://www.babycenter.ca/a538833/what-you-need-to-know-about-parental-leave-and-ei-in-canada)


And more:


Pregnant employees have the right to take pregnancy leave of up to 17 weeks of unpaid time off work. In some cases the leave may be longer. Employers do not have to pay wages to someone who is on pregnancy leave.

New parents have the right to take parental leave--unpaid time off work when a baby or child is born or first comes into their care. Birth mothers who took pregnancy leave are entitled to up to 35 weeks' leave. Birth mothers who do not take pregnancy leave and all other new parents are entitled to up to 37 weeks' parental leave. ...


The Employment Standards Act, 2000 (http://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/00e41) (ESA) provides eligible employees who are pregnant or are new parents with the right to take unpaid time off work.

In contrast, the federal Employment Insurance Act (http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/E-5.6/) provides eligible employees with maternity and/or parental benefits that may be payable to the employee during the period he or she is off on an ESA pregnancy or parental leave.

From the Ontario Ministry of Labour. (https://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/es/pubs/guide/pregnancy.php)

EI (Employment Insurance) is a fund that every Canadian puts money into off their pay cheque (think it is about 2%), and employers have to put in a certain amount as well. It covers unemployment, maternity/paternity leave, compassionate leave, and some other circumstances. There is usually a cap on the amount of time someone can receive EI.

Obviously, the US doesn't like federal programs and wants things decentralized, but states could do something similar.


(https://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/es/pubs/guide/pregnancy.php)

[Peter1469]

That means taxpayers pay for it. We already have deficits that hover between $.5T and $1T per year.


No one seems to have brought up having the government pay for it. Here is how maternity leaves works in Canada:



From: What you need to know about paternal leave and EI in Canada (http://www.babycenter.ca/a538833/what-you-need-to-know-about-parental-leave-and-ei-in-canada)


And more:



From the Ontario Ministry of Labour. (https://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/es/pubs/guide/pregnancy.php)

EI (Employment Insurance) is a fund that every Canadian puts money into off their pay cheque (think it is about 2%), and employers have to put in a certain amount as well. It covers unemployment, maternity/paternity leave, compassionate leave, and some other circumstances. There is usually a cap on the amount of time someone can receive EI.

Obviously, the US doesn't like federal programs and wants things decentralized, but states could do something similar.


(https://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/es/pubs/guide/pregnancy.php)

[Adelaide]

Wow, great ad hom! Have you been practicing?

I worked yet managed to find time to spend with my son evenings, weekends, did Scouts, basketball, little league with him.

Again, though, what I support is what employer and employee can agree to voluntarily.

What if the woman (assuming it's a heterosexual couple) makes more money? It makes more sense for the parent who makes less to take leave.

And this is just one example of why someone might opt to take paternity leave rather than maternity leave.

[Ethereal]

I think we should be focused on creating the conditions where such leave is economically feasible for most people. In other words, if we concentrate on prosperity first, the benefits will follow naturally. Just as one example, child labor in the western world went away, not because of government prohibitions, but because of rising prosperity.

[Dangermouse]

I think we should be focused on creating the conditions where such leave is economically feasible for most people. In other words, if we concentrate on prosperity first, the benefits will follow naturally. Just as one example, child labor in the western world went away, not because of government prohibitions, but because of rising prosperity.

Yet other nations can manage to provide this facility affordably from a lower GDP. How much prosperity will ever be enough?

[Newpublius]

Should the United States be focusing on trying to ensure mothers and fathers have paid leave? Why or why not?





Here is a chart from the Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/14/parental-leave-around-the-world_n_6464910.html) that shows which countries are providing a lot of leave for mothers versus those who are the worst for providing leave (at the link there is more information, including amount of leave for fathers):

17220

Former small company owner, 7-10 employees, the sign says 'Help Wanted' for a reason as in 'I NEED HELP' and if I have to pay maternity leave, flat out, I just wouldn't hire women, because somebody's preganancy doesn't mean I still don't need the help, I really did