Paid Parental Leave: This Map Shows The State of Paid Leave In US

The time immediately after birth or adoption is a crucial one for parents and children, and because of that, most countries across the world provide some form of paid prenatal leave, parental leave, or federal paid family leave for their citizens. But not us. The United States stands alone in being the sole nation in the OECD that guarantees exactly zero federal paid parental leave to its citizens. And despite the best efforts of some federal lawmakers, it’s been those in just a few states who’ve actually been successful in giving more people what should be a universal benefit. Here’s what you need to know about the state of parental leave in the U.S., from the inadequate law on the federal books to the places that are stepping up to help new parents. What does federal law say about family leave? There is one federal leave law on the books. The Family and Medical Leave Act , passed in 1993, guarantees “eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specific family and medical reasons with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave.” Those reasons include birth, adoption, and foster placement of a new child. “Covered employers” are employers that are either public agencies (at any level of government), K-12 schools (public or private), or private-sector employers who employed 50 or more people in 20 or more workweeks. That’s a complicated way of saying that smaller …