The Problem
Despite widespread public support for paid parental leave, the United States is the only industrialized country without a national policy providing mothers with rights to paid leave following the birth of a child. Research conducted over the past two decades indicates that entitlements of up to six to nine months of paid leave provide substantial labor market and health benefits.
The Proposal
Ruhm proposes a national paid leave program designed to promote gender equity through an entitlement to 12 weeks of paid time off work for both mothers and fathers. The proposal includes: job protection during the leave and broad eligibility to parents with minimal employment histories; a wage replacement rate that falls from 75 percent to 50 percent as earnings increase, up to a capped total benefit; financing through a stable stream of general revenues; administration through a new office established within the Social Security Administration; and careful evaluation of the program three to five years after initial implementation.
Abstract
Despite widespread public support for paid parental leave, the United States is the only industrialized country without a national policy providing mothers with rights to paid leave following the birth of a child. Ruhm proposes a national paid leave program that entitles both mothers and fathers to 12 weeks of paid time off work. The proposal includes job protection during the leave, broad eligibility, and income-tiered wage replacement rates. The program would be financed by general revenues and administered by a new office established within the Social Security Administration, with program evaluation scheduled three to five years after initial implementation.
