Paid family leave
Encyclopedia
Paid family leave refers to leaves
taken from work for the purpose of recovering from a serious illness, to care for a seriously ill family member or to bond with a newly born or newly adopted child, during which the leave-taker receives some level of financial support from the employer, an insurance
policy, or a government program. Other names for paid family leave include "Family Disability Leave", "Family Leave Insurance" and "Paid Parental Leave".
Paid Family Leave has been available as a legal right and/or governmental program for many years, in one form or another, in many countries throughout the globe – with the notable exceptions of the United States of America and Australia (Australia, unlike the US, does provide one year of unpaid job leave and a lump sum payment for new babies).
Since the passage of the United States' Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993
, paid family leave has grown as a political, social, and workers' rights issue, since the FMLA provides for only 12 weeks of unpaid family leave to workers that work at a business with 50 or more employees. The state of California enacted the first government-run Paid Family Leave program in the United States, though the program is funded entirely through the contributions of workers. In May 2007, the state of Washington enacted legislation providing paid family leave for bonding with and caring for new children; becoming the second state to pass paid family leave legislation. New Jersey also has established a paid leave program.
As of May 2007, no commercial insurer has offered any form of commercially available Family Leave Insurance that provides a source of income during unpaid family leaves, though two US patent applications have been filed for methods of providing such insurance.
Certain credit card
issuers and other lenders have for years offered "credit protection" insurance that pays either minimum payments or interest only on the credit balances during certain "family leaves". These types of insurance are usually sold as "credit protection" or "credit score protection".
A 2002 survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) reports that approximately 30% of all large companies offer some level of paid family leave, though as a total of all employers this as a very low number.
Parental leave
Parental leave is an employee benefit that provides paid or unpaid time off work to care for a child or make arrangements for the child's welfare. Often, the term parental leave includes maternity, paternity, and adoption leave...
taken from work for the purpose of recovering from a serious illness, to care for a seriously ill family member or to bond with a newly born or newly adopted child, during which the leave-taker receives some level of financial support from the employer, an insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
policy, or a government program. Other names for paid family leave include "Family Disability Leave", "Family Leave Insurance" and "Paid Parental Leave".
Paid Family Leave has been available as a legal right and/or governmental program for many years, in one form or another, in many countries throughout the globe – with the notable exceptions of the United States of America and Australia (Australia, unlike the US, does provide one year of unpaid job leave and a lump sum payment for new babies).
Since the passage of the United States' Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993
Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993
The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 is a United States federal law requiring covered employers to provide employees job-protected unpaid leave for qualified medical and family reasons. These reasons include personal or family illness, military service, family military leave, pregnancy,...
, paid family leave has grown as a political, social, and workers' rights issue, since the FMLA provides for only 12 weeks of unpaid family leave to workers that work at a business with 50 or more employees. The state of California enacted the first government-run Paid Family Leave program in the United States, though the program is funded entirely through the contributions of workers. In May 2007, the state of Washington enacted legislation providing paid family leave for bonding with and caring for new children; becoming the second state to pass paid family leave legislation. New Jersey also has established a paid leave program.
As of May 2007, no commercial insurer has offered any form of commercially available Family Leave Insurance that provides a source of income during unpaid family leaves, though two US patent applications have been filed for methods of providing such insurance.
Certain credit card
Credit card
A credit card is a small plastic card issued to users as a system of payment. It allows its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services...
issuers and other lenders have for years offered "credit protection" insurance that pays either minimum payments or interest only on the credit balances during certain "family leaves". These types of insurance are usually sold as "credit protection" or "credit score protection".
A 2002 survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) reports that approximately 30% of all large companies offer some level of paid family leave, though as a total of all employers this as a very low number.