Leave it to those nutty Californians to try out one of the best ideas around for the promotion of work-family sanity (and, in a small way, one of the best ways to take a trial spin at at-home fatherhood): they've instituted paid family leave. Under a law that went into effect right before the holiday, residents of California can get 55 percent of their salary (up to $728 a week) for six weeks to care for a new baby or a sick relative.
This is revolutionary. A decade ago, there was no national right to take any time for family reasons. Now, the largest state in the union thinks paid leave is sufficiently important to make it a reality (in the midst of a budget crunch, no less. I know that the money doesn't come from the general revenue of the state, but from the state disability fund, but it's still impressive to see this sort of entitlement to appear at this point in time).
Paid leave is a crucial plank in the Rebel Dad Plan to Change the World, mostly because if not for my former employer's policy, I'd never have ended up an at-home father. The economic penalty for staying out of the workforce for more than a week or two is simply too great now to expect fathers (or mothers) to take advantage of their 12 weeks of Family and Medical Leave Act time for a new child. But offering some money during that period can soften the blow.
Of course, I have no doubt that, like the FMLA, little of the California leave will probably be used for paternity leave. But even a modest bump in the number of men that get the chance to spend an extended period of time with their newborns will translate into more men playing more of a role in the childrearing.
The Christian Science Monitor, in this piece on the California law, wonders aloud whether Californians -- who invented such nationwide crazes as skateboarding and barbecue sauce on pizzas -- will again be on the cutting edge. Their take? We may be inching closer. The point out Teddy Kennedy's Healthy Families Act, introduced last month, as evidence that the debate has gone national. (The Monitor notes that US Chamber of Commerce -- the powerful lobby that represents US businesses -- has pledged their undying opposition to the effort.) The US (outside of California, of course) has the worst leave policies in the developed world. That makes this battle all the more important. Paid leave on a national level will be a fight -- a long fight -- but the debate is long overdue.
This is revolutionary. A decade ago, there was no national right to take any time for family reasons. Now, the largest state in the union thinks paid leave is sufficiently important to make it a reality (in the midst of a budget crunch, no less. I know that the money doesn't come from the general revenue of the state, but from the state disability fund, but it's still impressive to see this sort of entitlement to appear at this point in time).
Paid leave is a crucial plank in the Rebel Dad Plan to Change the World, mostly because if not for my former employer's policy, I'd never have ended up an at-home father. The economic penalty for staying out of the workforce for more than a week or two is simply too great now to expect fathers (or mothers) to take advantage of their 12 weeks of Family and Medical Leave Act time for a new child. But offering some money during that period can soften the blow.
Of course, I have no doubt that, like the FMLA, little of the California leave will probably be used for paternity leave. But even a modest bump in the number of men that get the chance to spend an extended period of time with their newborns will translate into more men playing more of a role in the childrearing.
The Christian Science Monitor, in this piece on the California law, wonders aloud whether Californians -- who invented such nationwide crazes as skateboarding and barbecue sauce on pizzas -- will again be on the cutting edge. Their take? We may be inching closer. The point out Teddy Kennedy's Healthy Families Act, introduced last month, as evidence that the debate has gone national. (The Monitor notes that US Chamber of Commerce -- the powerful lobby that represents US businesses -- has pledged their undying opposition to the effort.) The US (outside of California, of course) has the worst leave policies in the developed world. That makes this battle all the more important. Paid leave on a national level will be a fight -- a long fight -- but the debate is long overdue.
posted by Rebel Dad at
1:58 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home