“According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 11 percent of all private industry workers have access to paid family leave (16 percent of state and local government employees have access to some paid family leave; federal workers don’t get any, though all employees may be able to use accrued sick leave). Well-paid people who work in managerial or professional occupations at companies with 100 employees or more are the most likely to have the benefit, according to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research.”
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U.S. Trails Much of the World in Providing Paid Family Leave - NYTimes.com
In other words, the people least able to afford unpaid maternity leave are the ones most likely to end up having to deal with it, which is why so many people are back at work less than a month after they’ve had a baby. It’s worth noting that paid maternity and paternity leave has significant health benefits for parents and children, including decreasing infant mortality rates.
