Family Leave Still Out of Reach for Almost Half of US Workers 30 Years After Landmark Law
FMLA has barely changed since 1993, a lot of US employees aren’t eligible and few paid leave programs exist
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Three decades after the US adopted a policy that let people keep their jobs while taking time off for an illness or new baby, almost half of US workers aren’t eligible, and advocates in individual states are still struggling to make sure that those who do take leave can also get paid.
In the next two years, paid leave programs will start paying out claims in Oregon, Colorado, Maryland and Delaware, home to some 9 million workers. Such policies already exist in nine other states plus Washington, DC, and are part of a growing movement of states trying to fill the gap as nationwide action stalls.