Newswise — Adequate paid family and medical leave in the United States is necessary for the health and economic welfare of individuals and families. Adequate paid leave ensures workers are able to tend to a newborn baby with health benefits for both baby and parents, and the positive health dividends continue for years to come. It allows workers to care for seriously ill family members, aiding their full recovery. It provides workers with chronic illnesses the ability to remain attached to the labor force. It is also in alignment with a strong economy.

Twenty-five years ago this month, the United States (U.S.) passed the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) which guarantees workers up to 12 weeks of leave for family or medical reasons. Yet the time away from work is unpaid and there are many restrictions on who can use FMLA, therefore rendering it unaffordable and/or unavailable for millions of American workers.

Paid Family Medical Leave: Healthier U.S. Families Within Our Reach, a new report by the WORLD Policy Analysis Center at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, provides evidence of the most effective approaches to paid family and medical leave using data from the experiences of states in the U.S. and high-income countries that have paid leave policies in place.

“Having a baby, taking personal sick leave or time off to care for a family member in the United States often comes at an extraordinarily high price,” said Dr. Jody Heymann, founding director of the WORLD Policy Analysis Center (WORLD) and dean of the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. “Low or nonexistent wage replacement rates make it difficult or impossible for some workers to take time away from their job. For many workers, taking leave is associated with fear of losing employment and the income that is critical to keeping their family afloat.”

Carried out in conjunction with collaborators at McGill University, UCLA David Geffen School ofMedicine and UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital, the report is based on a systematic review of morethan 5,500 studies about paid family and medical leave in high-income countries, medical evidence onhow paid leave can support health and recovery, and analysis of economic feasibility for families,companies, and governments.

Length of paid family and medical leave, and associated health benefits:

A minimum of three months of paid parental leave is essential for mothers. Six monthsof paid parental leave substantially increases both health and economic benefits to thehousehold.

Providing an equal amount of leave for fathers can support the health of the mother,the father’s role in the family, and also improve gender equality in the household andthe workplace. Separate benefits for each parent are needed to support both parentstaking leave.

Three months of paid medical leave for personal illness will cover time needed for manymajor health conditions. However, six months of paid medical leave provides criticalcoverage for common life threatening conditions, such as cancer.

Legislation needs to be inclusive of all families. Paid family and medical leave benefitsthat are set up for the individual, rather than a family, should have provisions to ensurewidows or single parents are not left with half as much leave as a married couple, andindividual entitlements should be gender-neutral.

Economic feasibility of paid family and medical leave:

Social insurance is economically feasible with benefits for all. Social insurance facilitatesthe inclusion of workers who work for small businesses, have changed jobs or fields, losta job when a company had layoffs or an industry was downsizing, been seasonally orintermittently employed due to reduced opportunities in an economic downturn, orrecently finished a period of education.

The best available evidence is that a wage replacement rate of at least 80% is importantfor gender equality in taking leave; when wage replacement rates are low, the parentearning a higher wage is unlikely to take leave.

Provisions should support cooperative care by multiple family members, reducing theburden on both caregivers and their employers.

“It is encouraging to see problem solving related to family and medical leave across the aisle inWashington D.C., and critical to remember that the length of leave and funding sources for leave needto support all types of families across all income levels,” Heymann said. “We know what’s needed forsuccessful paid family and medical leave policy. Now is the time to turn that evidence into impact, forthe benefit of all Americans.”

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The WORLD Policy Analysis Center (WORLD) aims to improve the quantity and quality of comparative data3available to policymakers, citizens, civil society, and researchers around the world on policies affecting equity,development, human health, and well-being. Under the leadership of Dr. Jody Heymann, dean of the UCLAFielding School of Public Health, WORLD is committed to making its broad, globally comparative findings publiclyaccessible to inform and encourage improvements in legal and policy frameworks worldwide, allow nations to learnfrom the approaches taken in other countries, facilitate studies of the feasibility and effectiveness of laws andpolicies in critical areas, and support efforts to hold decision-makers accountable.

The UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, founded in 1961, is dedicated to enhancing the public's health byconducting innovative research, training future leaders and health professionals from diverse backgrounds,translating research into policy and practice, and serving our local communities and the communities of the nationand the world. The school has 650 students from more than 25 nations engaged in carrying out the vision ofbuilding healthy futures in greater Los Angeles, California, the nation, and the world.