Oct 11, 2019
PL+US Founder and Executive Director Katie Bethell answers FAQs about paid leave.
The United States is the only country in the developed world that does not mandate employers give paid time off to new mothers and fathers or other workers who need to step away to care for themselves or loved ones. When you compare the U.S. to Bulgaria, which gives 59 weeks of maternity leave at 90 percent salary, plus an additional year to be split between parents, or Norway (49 weeks), India (26 weeks), Chile (18 weeks), Iraq (14 weeks), our country looks downright pathetic.
So why is the U.S. so far behind the rest of the world, and what are members of Congress, presidential contenders, companies, and individuals doing about it? To find out, Marie Claire asked Katie Bethell, founder and executive director of PL+US (Paid Leave for the United States)—a national campaign to win paid family leave by 2022—to answer some of the most pressing FAQs about paid family leave.