lonetto@phri.UUCP (Michael Lonetto) (09/18/85)
From the NY Times, 9/18/85 (p. C6) Reprinted without permission. New-Parent Leave: U.S. Lag Assailed Washington, Sept. 17 (AP)--More than 100 countries provide paid, job-protected time off to new mothers, but the United States is not among them. A diverse group of lobbyists is joining forces to try to change that. Supporters of parental leave say the current arrangement forces many American mothers and fathers to choose between losing their jobs and shortchanging their children. "This is a country with probably the best and most sophisticated child development research of any in the world, and here we are offering less protection around a parent-child issue than any of the other industrialized nations," said Sheila Kamerman, a professor at Columbia University's School of Social Work and an expert on foreign parental leave policies. Representative Patricia Schroeder, Democrat of Colorado, has introduced a bill to establish a national parental leave system. The measure would mandate four months of job-protected leave for employees who have a newborn, newly adopted of seriously ill child. It would require six months leave for workers with short-term disabilities arising from pregnancy or other temporary conditions. The bill would also create a panel to recommend a national policy on parental and disability leave. Critics say these steps would be costly and difficult to carry out and would place unnecessary stress on small businesses. Proponents counter that parental leave pays off by keeping trained workers in the workforce and by promoting family stability. Sally Orr, public policy director for the Association of Junior Leagues, says parental leave legislation is a top priority of her organization. "With all the two-parent working families. it is important to give parents a chance to be with their children," she said. "With a majority of mothers in the work force now, unless they have some time off, it will be detrimental to women in careers and advancement-and also detrimental to family life." Leave for fathers is also important, she said, because it helps the family work together and strengthens the family unit. According to Representative Schroeder, 88 percent of employers in the the United States allow women unpaid maternity leave, but fewer employers guarantee their jobs and seniority. She said that only 40 percent of American working women receive a paid six-to-eight-week disability leave, the birth recovery time recommended by most obstetricians. A 1978 law requires that pregnancy be treated like any other disability- but only if a company has more than 15 employees and a disability policy or if it is in one of the five states with mandatory disability programs: New York, New Jersey, Hawaii, California and Rhode Island. Professor Kamerman says most other industrialized nations and some developing countries have laws giving women specific time off at childbirth, with job protection and some or all wages. European working woman(sic) generally have about five months of paid leave with job, pension and seniority protection, she says. Supporters of such legislation include the Children's Defense Fund, The American Civil Liberties Union, the Pension Rights Center, the United Auto Workers and other feminist, labor and children's groups. Organized opposition has not appeared but supporters say they expect some when hearings on the Schroeder bill are held this fall. Frank Benson, a spokesman for the United States Chamber of Commerce, noted that his group generally opposes new demands on employers. "While we encourage employers to do anything they can," he said, "we are not in favor of legislated or mandated benefits that are not connected to job-related injuries or loss of compensation. -- ____________________ Michael Lonetto Public Health Research Institute, 455 1st Ave, NY, NY 10016 (allegra!phri!lonetto) "BUY ART, NOT COCAINE"