Congress considers 4 weeks of US paid leave plan

Congress is now considering four weeks of paid family and medical leave, lower than the 12 weeks of leave initially proposed by Democrats. If the plan goes through, the US will no longer be one among the six countries in the world, and the only rich country without any form of national paid leave system. The US is also one of the eight countries in the world without a national paid maternity leave. Four weeks would also be significantly lesser than the 12 weeks of paid parental leave given to federal workers in the US and less than the leave that has been passed in nine states and the District of Columbia. 

The paid leave plan is one among the Democrats' many giant budget proposal that also includes child care and care for elders. Researchers say that some leave is better than none. But evidence from around the world shows that four weeks is too little to reap the full benefits. Jody Heymann, professor at UCLA and founding director of the policy center says, " When you look at other countries, there is evidence of what people need and what's feasible. And by both of those measures, 12 weeks is a modest amount, and anything less is grossly inadequate. The rest of the world, including low-income countries, have found a way to do this." The center's data shows that the global average paid maternity leave is 29 weeks and the average paid paternity leave is 16 weeks. 

Source: The New York Times