Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called out United States employers for giving parents minimal paid parental leave, saying animals are given more time to bond with their children after birth.
Cortez made a comparison that dogs are allowed to spend more time with their newborns than regular mothers with their newborns. The U.S does not provide a federal form of paid leave.
“I have to disclose that I have a stake in this fight,” she said. “When I was first starting my office here, I decided to offer 12 weeks of paid family leave. And in my first 11 or 12 months in office, there have been six pregnancies in my congressional office. And six folks have taken pregnancy or medical leave — 5 of the men in my office, new fathers or folks that are taking medical leave — taking care of their families.”
Cortez said that she offered her staff three months of paid paternal leave and some of her staff members took the leave during her first year in office.
“At a bare minimum, we need to fight for 3 months paid family leave in the United States. Ideally, I believe we should have 6-12 months of paid leave — just as many other industrial nations do,” she added.
Currently, only five states have paid parental leave, New York State, California, New Jersey, New Hampshire and Washington D.C. Now, Washington passed a law, but it won’t be in effect until next year.
Parental leave is never easy and under the Family and Medical Leave Act, many parents take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave. However, not all parents take the time off due to worries about losing their jobs. Employees can qualify for the leave if they worked 1,240 hours over 12 months. Under the FMLA, the act does not require your employer to pay you when you take your leave even if you are entitled to take a leave.
Joshua Roberts / Reuters
Favorite
AOC Says U.S. Treats New Parents Worse than Dogs
Share
Tweet
Share
Share
0 comments
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called out United States employers for giving parents minimal paid parental leave, saying animals are given more time to bond with their children after birth.
Cortez made a comparison that dogs are allowed to spend more time with their newborns than regular mothers with their newborns. The U.S does not provide a federal form of paid leave.
“I have to disclose that I have a stake in this fight,” she said. “When I was first starting my office here, I decided to offer 12 weeks of paid family leave. And in my first 11 or 12 months in office, there have been six pregnancies in my congressional office. And six folks have taken pregnancy or medical leave — 5 of the men in my office, new fathers or folks that are taking medical leave — taking care of their families.”
Cortez said that she offered her staff three months of paid paternal leave and some of her staff members took the leave during her first year in office.
“At a bare minimum, we need to fight for 3 months paid family leave in the United States. Ideally, I believe we should have 6-12 months of paid leave — just as many other industrial nations do,” she added.
Currently, only five states have paid parental leave, New York State, California, New Jersey, New Hampshire and Washington D.C. Now, Washington passed a law, but it won’t be in effect until next year.
Parental leave is never easy and under the Family and Medical Leave Act, many parents take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave. However, not all parents take the time off due to worries about losing their jobs. Employees can qualify for the leave if they worked 1,240 hours over 12 months. Under the FMLA, the act does not require your employer to pay you when you take your leave even if you are entitled to take a leave.