The United States is the only developed country not to offer paid leave to mothers and fathers of newborn children.
During the 2016 presidential campaign, the issue of paid leave was very prominent in Hillary Clinton’s platform, and President-elect Donald Trump eventually proposed a paid-leave plan as well. Based on his rhetoric on the topic, his paid leave plan originally included six weeks of leave, offered to married women giving birth. This eventually was expanded to single women giving birth as well after criticism but still excludes parties like fathers, adoptive parents, and certain same-sex couples.
Based on the limited information we have now, I spoke with Tom Spiggle, an employment attorney and founder of the Spiggle Law Firm, who made some predictions on the way in which the paid-leave landscape could shift in upcoming years. What could shape it, and what questions should we consider?
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First, the Family and Medical Leave Act is the one federal program we have now, and it’s unpaid. “One possibility is it [the future paid leave rule] would be administered through or somehow joined with the FMLA,” said Spiggle, whose specialty is workplace discrimination and wrongful termination due to pregnancy or other family care issues. Once that box is open, could Congress tinker with the FMLA in a way that is less leave-friendly? It’s worth noting that no one has indicated wanting to weaken the FMLA.
Second, what happens if the paid leave law is violated? The worker’s right to go to court could be mitigated in favor of something like a slap on the wrist to the employer or an administrative fine, Spiggle speculated.
Finally, no matter what happens on a federal level, on a state level changes will probably continue to happen. New York and Washington state begin offering paid medical and family leave Jan. 1, 2018, joining the states already doing so — California, New Jersey and Rhode Island. Washington D.C.’s proposed paid leave law, which is very progressive, is up for a vote in December.
Spiggle mentioned a couple other considerations. “Trump’s policy is different from the Republican orthodoxy on the subject, which is not to have a government mandate or any kind of paid leave,” he said. Given, the Republican majority in the House and Senate, what kind of “horse-trading” could this spur?
Trump brought paid leave into his campaign, but is it high priority? He has a lot on his plate, such as sticky international situations and other employment law issues, said Spiggle. “We might not know until well into the administration what a proposal would look like,” he said.
Andie Burjek is a Workforce associate editor. Comment below or email at aburjek@humancapitalmedia.com. Follow Workforce on Twitter at @workforcenews.