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@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: "Decent maternity leave should be a tool companies use to attract talented people." I think it is already! My company gives 12 weeks fully paid maternity leave and that was definitely party of my decision to work here!
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@MamaMoose: The problem with that is sort of three-fold though. First, the bar for "decent maternity leave" is ridiculously low. On an international scale 12 weeks paid leave is still woefully inadequate. Second, among most professional jobs until you get to the really higher levels (which are often occupied by people who are done having kids) it is a buyer's market. Most fields are over-saturated with entry level or lower level employees, which are the ones most likely to need maternity leave. Third, this would really only be true among white-collar type industries. For those who work blue collar jobs, the market is even more saturated and these jobs give almost no benefits beyond those federally mandated. Good maternity leave should not just be for those who went to college and have professional jobs, it is probably needed even more for those who work blue collar on-your-feet type jobs like grocery store clerks and factory workers.
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I would LOVE this, but I don't qualify now for FMLA. I have two weeks of paid days off, and that's it. I am really lucky that I have a supportive department and to be due close to the end of the semester. Otherwise, I would have had to take the whole semester off, which would have meant we needed COBRA, because our insurance is through me. Really, it's insane, and any expansion of who qualifies for FMLA would be amazing.
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I think any increase would be a step in the right direction.
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I wish that ALL women could take time off after baby. I'm self-employed, so that means I can take time off, but I won't get paid for any of it.
The government (local or federal) should have programs like temporary unemployment for all mamas ... Even 12 weeks would be amazing! Other countries do it (Canada is 9 months, right?) ...
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@Vegmama: Canada is 52 weeks (27 weeks maternity, 35 weeks parental), 55% of your earnings up to a max of $485 per week. If you are in a low-income family, it goes up to 80% of your earnings up to a max of $485/wk. They recently expanded leave for military families up to 104 weeks. There are obviously requirements before you can be eligible for these benefits.
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I was told with FMLA I dont get any paid time off, just whatevet sick and annual leave I have, and then can take up to 12 weeks unpaid. That can really end up being a financial burden on families if say ypu only have 3-4 weeks paid. I support some sort of federal mandated PAID time off. FMLA doesn't give you 12 weeks paid, and a lot of people mistaken believe it does. I did, and a lot of my colleagues did too.
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@dc yoga bee: I think it's a common misunderstanding, I didn't fully understand it until I started working in hr.
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@Freckles: that.
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@Vegmama: that too!
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I believe in here in Canada you can extend your leave up to 18 months for medical reasons. I know I had the option of even extending my leave (for no medical reason) up to 18 months (6 months unpaid) and my employer had to hold my job.
I hope the US can extend their leave. But all good things do come with a price so as many others said, I am not sure where that cost would even come from.
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