Businesses Reconsider Maternity Leave Offers In Face Of Economic Uncertainty

The struggle to balance profitability and employee benefits during the economic recession has led many companies to reduce their maternity leave offers, the Boston Globe reports. A 2010 survey by the Society for Human Resource Management found that 17% of employers offer paid maternity leave, but 7% plan to reduce or eliminate the benefit.

Kathleen Gerson, a sociology professor at New York University, said the current economic climate has led some employers to focus less on benefits issues. "People are so concerned with getting jobs and keeping jobs that it has pushed issues such as parental leave a little bit to the side," Gerson said. She added, "But it also means that women are more in need of jobs than ever, and families are more dependent on women's earnings than ever." The U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that 71% of women with children younger than age 18 were in the workforce in 2008, compared with 47% in 1975.

Court Ruling Spotlights Debate

The issue has come under renewed scrutiny after the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled this week that the state's Maternity Leave Act -- which covers businesses with 50 or fewer employees -- only allows job protection for up to eight weeks after the birth of a child. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act requires companies with 50 employees or more to offer 12 weeks of unpaid leave for the birth of a child or other reasons, such as caring for a sick relative. According to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, the federal law covers about 60% of the U.S. workforce, and about one-fifth of U.S. employers do not offer maternity-related leave of any kind.

The Globe reports that the U.S. has "one of the most stringent leave policies" in the developed world. The U.S. and Australia are the only countries out of 21 high-income nations that offer no paid parental leave, although Australia offers one year of unpaid leave, according to a 2008 study by CEPR. Canada offers women one year of maternity leave, including 29 weeks at full salary, while Sweden offers women 85 weeks of maternity leave -- 40 of which are paid -- and up to 163 weeks off for both parents combined (Woolhouse/Johnston Chase, Boston Globe, 8/12).


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