E.U. Considers Lengthening Maternity Leave – What About U.S.?

By Tina Vasquez (Los Angeles)

In October of last year news broke that the European Parliament, which covers 27 nations, was attempting to extend maternity leave from 14 to 20-weeks on full pay. On January 7, 2011 European Union ministers rejected the move, citing the cost as the biggest hindrance. Among the countries lobbying against the plan were the UK, France, and Germany. Assessments said the proposed measure would cost UK businesses approximately $3.8 billion a year; France estimated it would mean extra healthcare costs of about $1.75 billion; and Germany put its additional costs at $1.6 billion.

The plan also included paternity leave and a stipulation that pregnant workers would have their job or an “equivalent” position reserved for them. Also, the plan specified that women returning to their jobs could not be dismissed for six months once their maternity leave drew to a close.

In order to reach a happy medium, The European Commission has proposed extending the plan to just 18-weeks as a way of improving work-life balance. Belgium, the current holder of the EU presidency, is showing early support for the 18-week plan, but no deal is expected until at least 2012.

Maternity Plans Abroad

Currently, women in the UK are entitled to 12 months’ maternity leave. During the first six weeks they will receive 90 percent of their original pay, followed by 33 weeks of “Statutory Maternity Pay,” which is just under $200 a week. In Germany, maternity leave is 14-weeks. It is one of the shortest maternity periods allotted to women in the EU, but new mothers receive their full salary. In New Zealand, women receive 14-weeks leave on full pay. Iceland, which is known for its progressive measures, offers women nine months of paid maternity leave, three of which must be taken by fathers.

France, Singapore, and Austria all offer four months’ paid maternity leave benefits. Swedish mothers, perhaps the best off in the world in terms of maternity leave, get 480 days off and receive 80 percent of their salary. In Serbia and Denmark women receive a year off at full pay. Even in Vietnam, Gambia, and Somalia, new moms receive at least three months’ paid maternity leave.

According to Lisa Maatz, AAUW‘s Director of Public Policy and Government Relations, when it comes to maternity leave, the U.S. can’t hold a candle to European countries. “It’s actually quite embarrassing,” Maatz said. “Our maternity leave plan is so grossly short-sighted. The U.S. economy has this sort of stubborn view of family culture that it won’t shake. It’s not realistic to assume that one parent can stay home full time with the child while the other parent goes to work. One of the reasons this theory is so flawed is because single parent households are quite common and it doesn’t do any good to pretend like they don’t exist and that the old concept of the nuclear family is still in place.”

After Australia’s first national paid parental leave plan went into effect on January 1st of this year, the U.S. is now the only developed county in the world that provides no paid maternity leave. Even more disheartening, the few benefits that moms do have only came as the result of the Family and Medical Leave Act, which passed as recently as 1993 after 10 years of legislative ups and downs. The act is the closest thing American women have to a maternity plan, as it grants working women 12 weeks’ unpaid time off with the guarantee of the same job when they return. In order to qualify, women must be employed for at least 12 months at the same firm and have worked a minimum of 1,250 hours during that time.

Patchwork of Policies

When it comes to maternity leave, Maatz asserts that women are operating under a “patchwork of policies” and many are falling through the cracks. The only thing the Family and Medical Leave Act really guarantees is the ability to stay home for 12 weeks, but for some women the legislation is completely useless. This is because companies with fewer than 50 employees don’t have to abide by the Act, meaning that small firms don’t have to provide new moms with any time off at all. If you think this only affects a small percentage of working women, you’re wrong. More than 50 percent of U.S. companies employ less than 50 people.

The patchwork approach comes into play for the women who do qualify for the 12-weeks off, which is sort of a Catch 22 for them. Taking the full three months enables them to recover and spend some much-needed time with their newborn, but that also means going three months without pay and for a majority of women, that’s simply not an option. So they do what they can with their employer’s policy (if one is in place) and they patch together their unused sick and vacation days to create some semblance of a maternity leave plan.

“Our inability to offer adequate maternity leave has a lot to do with money, but it’s also an indication that many companies aren’t family-friendly,” Maatz said. “It actually doesn’t make any sense because if we would just give women and families what they need, it would cause employees to be more loyal and one could argue it saves money. If a woman leaves her job when she becomes pregnant or gets let go shortly after giving birth, it costs thousands of dollars to find another employee and have them trained.”

Bright Spots

As glum as things seem, there are bright spots in the U.S. Particularly, for women living in the states of California, New Jersey, and Washington, as these states offer paid leave programs. These benefit plans deduct a small amount from the paycheck of working residents in the state and when women take time off to care for their newborn, a percentage of their wages are paid out as disability benefits. In California this percentage is 55 percent. In New Jersey, workers pay out 0.09 percent of their paycheck and in turn, new moms receive up to two-thirds of their weekly salary for six weeks.

Another bright spot is the 2009 Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act, which provides four weeks of paid leave to federal employees for the birth or adoption of a child. According to Jim Webb, the Virginia senator who introduced the bill, it was his goal to ensure that the federal government, the nation’s largest employer with 2.7 million employees, maintains policies that support strong families and sets an example for the private sector.

“The U.S. should patent itself as a model employer,” Maatz said. “After all, if the U.S. military can afford paid paternal leave, why not corporate America?”

Know Your Rights

The Alan Guttmacher Institute in New York estimates that up to 49 percent of the pregnancies in the U.S. are unplanned and this includes pregnancies happening both inside marriage and committed relationships, as well as those happening to single women. With statistics like this, it becomes clear that these things are difficult to plan for, but Maatz recommends all working women know their rights when going into a pregnancy.

“Women should familiarize themselves with the Family and Medical Leave Act and know whether or not it grants them time off at their workplace. You can’t assume with these things, you have to make sure,” Maatz said. “Women should also find out what the laws are in their particular state. Go to your company’s HR person and ask questions. If your company doesn’t have an HR person, take matters into your own hands and do some research online. You have nine months to try to set up maternity or paternity leave, so do your homework in the beginning and don’t leave it to the last minute.”