ArticlesReader.com Menu
Newest Articles
Most Viewed Articles
ArticlesReader.com RSS
Submit Article
Login
Signup
Search the articles

Articles Main Categories
Advice
Animals
Automobiles
Business
Career
Communications
Computer Programming
Computers
Entertainment
Environment
Family
Fashion
Finance
Food
Health & Medical
Home & Garden
Humor
Internet Business
Internet Marketing
Legal
Leisure & Recreation
Marketing
Other
Politics
Reference & Education
Religion
Self Improvement
Sports
Technology & Science
Travel
Writing
Subscribe
Receive alert message from us when new articles submitted to our site for free.

Enter your name

Enter your email

Syndicate

















Related Products
Home::Pregnancy

Maternity Leave Challenges in the US Today

Author : Heather Burns
Although 163 countries provide guaranteed paid maternity leave for new mothers, the United States does not. In fact, this maternity leave statistic puts the US in the same boat with Lesotho, Papua New Guinea and Swaziland. Australia is the only other industrialized nation that offers no paid maternity leave for new mothers, but it does offer 12 months of unpaid maternity leave. So what does the US offer new moms today?



Let us examine the laws for pregnancy and maternity leave up close. The first federal law that you should be aware of is the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. This Act makes it illegal for employers to fire, refuse to hire, or deny a woman a promotion because she is pregnant. However, it provides no job protection to new parents on maternity leave.



The second federal law that you should be aware of is the Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which provides millions of workers with up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected time off for maternity leave or recovery from illness.



If you happen to be so lucky, your company also may offer paid short term disability to help with your maternity leave and recovery from childbirth. Some companies are stricter than others in allowing a new mom on maternity leave to qualify for this paid benefit. Ask your HR representative if this is an option for you.



While most of us can depend on FMLA to guarantee us a return to our jobs, some workers cannot. FMLA only applies to businesses with over 50 employees. The FMLA protects working women and men who have been with the same employer for at least one year and have worked for at least 1250 hours over the course of that year. 40% of workers do not fall within these boundaries. Still more workers who are eligible for FMLA coverage simply cannot afford to take maternity leave without pay. In one survey, 78 percent of workers who needed FMLA but did not take it said they could not afford the unpaid leave. So what does this mean for your maternity leave?



It means that you may have to end your maternity leave before you are ready to leave your baby. To avoid this scenarios, start considering your options before you go on maternity leave.



Job Sharing: You share your job with another person, cutting your hours to half of what they once were. This allows you to spend more bonding time with baby, while giving you some income.



Telecommuting: Working from home may be a possibility if you have a computer, good Internet connection, and a telephone - at least while on a partial maternity leave



Staying Home Full Time: Can you rearrange your budget to stay home - at least temporarily?



Start Your Own Business:There are so many possibilities out there from starting your own childcare business to selling goods on e-bay.



The US has a long way to go to protect working moms. Many families simply canÂ’t afford to live on dadÂ’s income alone, and many of us are single moms as well, with no choice but to work. With a little creativity and some luck, you may be able to work around the system, so youÂ’ll have more bonding time with your baby and a longer maternity leave.


Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com





Heather Burns, the author, is the owner and operator of SmartMomma.com. For more information on maternity leave and other pregnancy and baby issues, please visit SmartMomma.com.





Spam emails More free articles

Related articles


  1. Coping With an Unplanned Pregnancy
  2. Pregnancy, Diabetes, and Your Feet
  3. Get Back Your Pre-Pregnancy Abs With Side Planks
  4. Pregnancy and Pre-natal Vitamins
  5. Glutathione for a Healthier Pregnancy
  6. Fitness While Pregnant - Is It Safe?
  7. Pregnancy Fitness After The Baby Is Born
  8. Fitness While Pregnant - Information You Should Know
  9. Best Tips On Getting Pregnant
  10. Are maternity clothes necessary in order to look good during pregnancy?
  11. Teen Pregnancy Prevention
  12. Stretch Lines and Pregnancy - Causes and Prevention
  13. Tips For A Healthy Pregnancy
  14. What To Expect From A Twin Pregnancy: ABCÂ’s Of Multiple Birth
  15. Maternity Leave Challenges in the US Today
  16. Pregnancy Ultrasound– a Gateway to Your Baby
  17. Exercise During Pregnancy: Can You Continue With Your Normal Routine?
  18. Early Pregnancy Symptoms
  19. Pregnancy Naturally
  20. Maternity Clothes Trends
  21. Losing Weight After Pregnancy
  22. Selecting The Right Baby Name Can Be Hard
  23. GAGGED While Giving Birth
  24. Paternity Test: Are You The One?
  25. Start Growing Healthy Children Before Getting Pregnant
More related feeds
Obama Calls on Two Journalists of Color | The Maynard Institute
"It's a first for me. I've come around to seeing this more as an opportunity to find new challenges. "My son is 4. My daughter is just 7 weeks. I just got back from paternity leave not long ago. I'm actually happy about the timing of ...

Progress reassuring to female employees - News
Though women across campus acknowledge gender gaps and take a stand on concerns such as pay equity, child care and maternity leave, women in the senior administration are calling for relatively little change. ...

Gannett Blog: Tally hits 863 as Gannett's mass layoff spreads ...
At least five has been laid off, including the business editor who was called in from her maternity leave. Classy. 12/02/2008 2:21 PM; Anonymous said... The Pensacola News Journal: From: Kevin T. Doyle RE: Today’s announcements ...

The Mom Entrepreneur: Lemons to lemonade feature #18: Kristine ...
Traci Bisson: Barrington, New Hampshire, United States: I have been a mom since February 2000 and an entrepreneur since August 2000. Eight weeks after I returned from maternity leave, the company where I had been employed for five years ...

THE COMMUNITY COFFEE CREW delivers jelly beans - December 2, 2009 ...
(Today’s honorary Community Coffee Club Captain is NAIT's media relations specialist Raquel Maurier, who is set to go on maternity leave. Congratulations, Raquel!) It was in the early evening on the weekend when the crew of Fire Hall No ...

Navy offers 10 days of paid leave to new fathers | HamptonRoads ...
With all those boys and girls living together on the Love Boats of the US Navy there obviously is a need for paternity and maternity leave. Perhaps nurseries on board the ships and married cabins to encourage sailors to get married. ...

Carolina Politics Online » Jeff Katz Fired From WBT!
He did a stand-up job while Tara was out on maternity leave and if you haven’t heard his broadcast the week of July 4th, 2008 on the Texas Robbery Incident you are really missing out. # Rory on 02 Dec 2008 at 1:24 pm ...

maternity leave challenges in the us today
australia is the only other industrialized nation that offers no paid maternity leave for new mothers, but it does offer 12 months of unpaid maternity leave. so what does the us offer new moms today? ...

GPS Tracking LandAirSea | Teen Challenges Ethics of GPS Tracking ...
This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008 at 2:04 pm and is filed under GPS Tracking, Teen Driving. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own ...

The Juggle - WSJ.com : Enough About Michelle: Obama's Example as a ...
I tend to look for role models a little further down the food chain - e.g. I am encouraged when I hear men of my generation take paternity leave without shame and embarassment, make accomodations to attend school functions, etc. ...

 

 

© 2007 articlesreader.com - All Rights Reserved