Essay on Parental Leave

1353 Words6 Pages
We are living in a society where in order to survive, two-income households are virtually a necessity, but household chores and child rearing are still considered the woman’s responsibility. Men in society are still expected to work and provide. But what happens after a child is born? In American culture it is usually the mother who takes maternity leave to give birth, care for and bond with the child while she recuperates and her body heals. After a standard, and usually unpaid, 12 week leave, she usually will return to work, only to come home and take care of the household, and now also, care for her new baby. Despite how forward thinking our society claims to be, we still hold on to some old traditions that can weigh us down like an anchor. When I started research for this presentation, it was supposed to be about a man’s right to take paternity leave. But the more I researched the more I found that the United States is seriously behind other nations in protecting working families. In an article written by David Crary for the Huffington Post, “at least 178 countries have national laws guaranteeing paid leave for new mothers, while the handful of exceptions include the U.S., Swaziland and Papua New Guinea. More than 50 nations, including most Western countries, also guarantee paid leave for new fathers.” The United States Department of Labor reports that under the Family and Medical Leave Act that “employees are eligible for up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year” and that, “Employees are eligible for leave if they have worked for their employer at least 12 months, at least 1,250 hours over the past 12 months, and work at a location where the company employs 50 or more employees within 75 miles. Whether an employee has worked the minimum 1,250 hours of service is determined according to FLSA principles for determining compensable hours or

More about Essay on Parental Leave

Open Document