Family Leave Benefits

Rationale

The federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 guarantees leave from work without pay for the birth or adoption of a baby, the care of a close relative who is seriously ill, or the care of the workers' own serious illness. However, too many women and men who qualify for leave under the act do not take leave because they cannot afford to go without pay. Moreover, for workers who must take essential time off for family leave, the result can be financial hardship. According to the Commission on Family Leave, nearly one in 10 workers who take unpaid family leave are actually forced onto public assistance to make ends meet.48 To give all workers a meaningful right to leave, a number of states now provide limited forms of family leave benefits. Doing so also helps ensure that families will not be forced to deplete their assets in the face of financial hardship caused by taking essential time off.

About Measure

States receive credit for offering one of more of the following: 1. temporary disability insurance, 2. subsidies for infant care for low-income families, 3. allowing public employees to use sick leave to care for sick family, 4. requiring private employers to allow employees to use sick leave to care for sick family. A state receives 0 points if it does not have any of these policies, 0.25 if it has one, 0.5 if it has two, 0.75 if it has three, and 1 point if it has all four.

Source

National Partnership for Women and Families. (2002). State family leave benefit initiatives in the 2001-2002 state legislatures: Making family leave more affordable [On-line]. Available: www.nationalpartnership.org.