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Maternity Leave



Currently in the United States, the only federal law guaranteeing maternity leave in the U.S. is unpaid, and it only applies to some employees. “Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), will protect jobs for up to 12 weeks after childbirth or adoption.” The law states that your job be waiting when parents return and ensures that parents cannot be penalized for taking time off. Citizens are eligible for coverage only if they’ve been working in a job for a year and the employer has more than 50 employees within 75 miles of where employee works. Under FMLA, men are also eligible for 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a child. Some employers may offer additional paternity leave as well.

     Maternity laws also vary by state. For example, “California, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island operate programs that require private-sector employers to pay their employees who utilize maternity leave at partial replacement rates.” In New York extra paid family leave legislation passed. Starting off at 8 weeks and 50% of pay in 2018; then extending to 12 weeks and 67% of pay in 2021. Maternity leave has already proved to increase the financial success of a parent and their child. In New Jersey, “women who took paid leave in the year after giving birth were 40% less likely to receive public aid or food stamps.”

These numbers pale in comparison to leave given around the world. The top five countries who give the highest maternity leave are Bulgaria, Greece, United Kingdom, Slovakia, and Croatia. Bulgaria being the highest ranking country, giving 59 weeks of paid maternity leave, Croatia giving 30 weeks of paid leave and the United States comes in last giving the least amount of time with only 12 weeks. In Finland, "New mothers are entitled to up to three years of paid leave. Norwegian mothers receive up to 91 weeks. The U.K. receives  39 weeks, while citizens in the Canadian north get one year."



-       https://www.thecut.com/article/maternity-leave-usa.html
-       https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maternity_leave_in_the_United_States
-       https://money.cnn.com/2018/01/19/news/economy/countries-most-maternity-leave/index.html

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