5 ms·

It is true that the US does not guarantee maternity / paternity leave, however many companies do have it, and some are very generous. It's a great incentive to

It is true that the US does not guarantee maternity / paternity leave, however many companies do have it, and some are very generous. It's a great incentive to get good people on board. While I agree that a minimum is a good idea (though not sure how it would be legislated in practice) I also appreciate that the lack of labor regulation in the US results in a labor force and companies that are more responsive to change than in Europe and other places that are heavily regulated. As for protected classes, it seems that sexual preference is kind of covered under Title VII, but it's flimsy (this is at the Federal level): http://www.eeoc.gov/federal/otherprotections.cfm http://www.eeoc.gov/federal/otherprotections.cfm

aestra 13y ago
>many companies do have it The people who REALLY need it don't get it though, those working low income jobs who can't afford to save up for maternity leave.
auctiontheory 13y ago
AFAIK only a small number of "elite" employers offer generous maternity leave, and it's nothing approaching, say, Scandinavian standards.
beagle3 13y ago
In european countries you get between 3 and 12 months of paid maternity/paternity leave by law (in some countries, maternity only, in others, 12 months divide between parents). In some countries you can extend this by 3-6 month of unpaid leave while still protected against termination. > I also appreciate that the lack of labor regulation in the US results in a labor force and companies that are more responsive to change than in Europe and other places that are heavily regulated. companies that are more "responsive to change"? What does this mean? Yes, they respond more easily to quarterly results by firing, but I don't know of anyone outside of Wall Street that considers this a good thing. The US labour situation is all fcked up, sorry - up until last year, health insurance was tied to employers (meaning people kept working in places they hated, or did not start a new venture, for health coverage). Now, it's just ultra expensive and tied to a location. (Moved? unlikely you can keep your coverage) Some places in Europe are fcked up in the other extreme - e.g. I've heard from people in Austria and in Denmark that they won't hire employees because they won't be able to fire them without a year's notice. But the e.g. UK, Northern Ireland, Sweden and Germany are doing fine on the both the health care and labour law fronts.

aestra 13y ago

>many companies do have it The people who REALLY need it don't get it though, those working low income jobs who can't afford to save up for maternity leave.

auctiontheory 13y ago

AFAIK only a small number of "elite" employers offer generous maternity leave, and it's nothing approaching, say, Scandinavian standards.

beagle3 13y ago

In european countries you get between 3 and 12 months of paid maternity/paternity leave by law (in some countries, maternity only, in others, 12 months divide between parents). In some countries you can extend this by 3-6 month of unpaid leave while still protected against termination. > I also appreciate that the lack of labor regulation in the US results in a labor force and companies that are more responsive to change than in Europe and other places that are heavily regulated. companies that are more "responsive to change"? What does this mean? Yes, they respond more easily to quarterly results by firing, but I don't know of anyone outside of Wall Street that considers this a good thing. The US labour situation is all fcked up, sorry - up until last year, health insurance was tied to employers (meaning people kept working in places they hated, or did not start a new venture, for health coverage). Now, it's just ultra expensive and tied to a location. (Moved? unlikely you can keep your coverage) Some places in Europe are fcked up in the other extreme - e.g. I've heard from people in Austria and in Denmark that they won't hire employees because they won't be able to fire them without a year's notice. But the e.g. UK, Northern Ireland, Sweden and Germany are doing fine on the both the health care and labour law fronts.