2e. Write two lists entitled "What I Know" and "What I Don't Know” about my issue. Develop a list of possible resources that you could help you explore what you “know” and find answers to what you “don’t know” about your issue I have chosen to focus on maternity leave for this assignment because my wife and I are about to have our first child and we have been planing the time we will need to take care of the baby. The amount of time a country gives to new mothers for maternity leave also shows whether the rights and interests of women are fairly realized. Since we have been looking into the amount of time we will be able to take off for the birth of our child, I have come to realize how imperfect America's social care system is. I have found that most of the benefits offered to working mothers is decided by each individual company and there is no minimum requirement guaranteed by the government. This had lead to some industries with absolutely no paid leave while others have excellent benefits for both the mother and father. Utah is a state that has traditionally large families due to religious influences and yet they have no law covering paid maternity leave. I would like to also talk about the benefits received by employees of LDS church and also those in other countries.
What I Know: My wife is a Chinese teacher in a public elementary school. The state government does not provide any paid maternity leave for teachers. When our child is born, she will have to use all of her sick and personal days that she has so far and then the rest will be leave without pay. Under the federal FLMA law(1), workers are given 12 weeks of job protected leave but does not require any pay to be given. So those 12 weeks of unpaid leave is the maximum amount of time that my wife can take off from work to rest. At my job at Target even as a part-time employee I have full access to paternity leave after 1 year of work. Target offers 8 weeks of paid maternity leave, 2 weeks of paid paternity leave, and 6 weeks of unpaid paternity leave. (Source: My HR leader)
What I Don't Know: 1. How long does LDS church staff have for leave? - The Human Resources Department at the LDS headquarters office announced that on June 28, 2017, staff at the church could have six weeks of paid maternity leave and one week of paid parental leave. *2 Before that there was not any paid leave.
2. How does Utah compare to other states in the US? - Utah has one of the worst grades in maternity leave rating (an F) * 3 The highest ranking state is California (A-). "In California, New Jersey and Rhode Island, new parents can use statewide paid family leave insurance to receive four to six weeks of income support while on leave after the arrival of a new child." Utah has no additional benefits besides the federal required FLMA.
3. How does increased paid maternity leave affect companies? “New Jersey’s Family Leave Insurance program has been a huge positive for Caliper. When you think about the cost of individuals leaving, the cost of seeking new employees, the cost of training them, etc., there is just no comparison in terms of the pure balance sheet. This policy has saved my business money.” – Herb Greenberg, founder and CEO, Caliper Corp (New Jersey) *4
4. How do different industries/careers compare in the benefits they give their employees? - There are businesses in the United States who provide excellent maternity and paternity leave * 5 The technology business on average offer the highest amount of paid leave. For example, Netflix offers up to 52 weeks paid leave for both mothers and fathers.
5. How does the US compare to other countries in the world? - Comparison of maternity benefits in various countries of the world * 6 "The United States remains the only country in the developed world that does not mandate employers offer paid leave for new mothers, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development(OECD). New mothers in Finland, for instance, are entitled to up to three years worth of paid leave. Norwegian moms get up to 91 weeks. The U.K. grants new mothers up to 39 weeks, while our neighbors in the frigid Canadian north get one year."