Educate me on: maternity/paternity laws in the US

[Dylan]

There are some federal baselines that apply to employers of a certain size. The meat will often be in state laws though--is there a state in particular you are interested in? May I suggest the great state of New York.

[The Dharma Bum]

http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/

[eynon81]

[eynon81]

[Dylan]

yeah i looked into this a bit and ouch. not that great. federal = 12 weeks unpaid leave is mandated, and from what i gather in new york there's basically nothing added outside of standard "disability" laws that allow for you to get a pittance if something goes wrong with the birth.

[eynon81]

[The Dharma Bum]

They don't and it's wrecking society.

[Hyperion]

Most Southern states will only follow the federal regulation of 12 weeks. If you are in the top 10% of the company you work for or haven't worked at the location for more than a year, the employer can deny you unpaid maternity leave. Men and women are equally entitled under the federal mandate to the full 12 weeks unless they work for the same company. Ssome states have extensions for women that don't exist for men, but the courts are starting to retract these due to sexist undertones.

[jurupa]

[lil bit]

I didn't realise you were a single mother, Emerald.

It's hard no matter where you live and the constant criticism of single parent families perpetuated by the media just makes things worse. I was lucky enough to have a lot of practical help from my parents, who encouraged to me to go back to my proper job shortly after my youngest started school. I couldn't have done it otherwise.