paid maternity leave for your employees?

[Anonymous]

Hey, uh, OP, the only way this works is if we use tax money to pay for it and it's a benefit from the gov't. Otherwise it's a perk employers offer to attract talent. But it should be a right in a country as rich as we are.

[Anonymous]

OP clearly has an axe to grind regarding moms and maternity leave. OP, did you have to do a bit of extra work for a few months one time while your colleague was out recovering from child birth?

To answer the original question... I'm just a regular middle class person so I don't have a household employee.

[Anonymous]

This is why the law exempts small businesses from these expectations. Having to replace that missing employee while paying for both creates a burden that threatens the company’s viability. Even if mandated, a homeowner is never going to be responsible for paid maternity leave of a nanny. Talk about throwing the baby out with the bath water.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Women of child-bearing age should purchase their own insurance to pay them for their maternity leave but the US taxpayer should not subsidize your leave or your child care.

Why should US taxpayers subsidize you? The only reason we don’t have paid leave is because our laws and benefits were designed by men. It’s in our country’s best interest to support women having children AND working. Unless you want most children in this country born to the demographic that doesn’t need paid leave...those already living off the government. Not to mention not having paid leave is an unfair burden to women. Women can’t help that only women give birth.

Seriously you’re on the wrong side of history and need to do some soul searching. In 50 years saying you don’t support maternity leave will be like saying you don’t. Support desegregated schools.

NP. Why is it in our country’s best interest to support women having children AND working? And why do you only people on govt assistance would have children? What about women with jobs that offer maternity leave as a perk, or who are otherwise financially able to stay home?

[Anonymous]

I’m a professor and a grad student works for me as a research assistant and gets paid hourly for 15 hrs per week. I continued to pay her when she gave birth and 2 months afterwards

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The majority of DCUM is white collar office jobs. They force the rest of the employees to cover the woman while she's on maternity leave. It costs those companies next to nothing to offer maternity leave.

If my nanny wanted 12 weeks paid, I would have to hire a $$$ temp worker for 12 weeks.

It costs a lot in employee morale as other employees resent doing your job without extra pay. If other employees can divvy up your work then you are just extra baggage and no longer needed.

This is true and is the subject of discord in offices. But it happens in all periods of your life. I just covered for a mastectomy, cancer and a knee replacement for 50+ year olds. All were just as long as my maternity leave. People only complain about women having children though.

+1! The same happens at our office. People have taken off for surgery and to care for an ailing relative. It only seems to be an issue when it comes to maternity leave.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The majority of DCUM is white collar office jobs. They force the rest of the employees to cover the woman while she's on maternity leave. It costs those companies next to nothing to offer maternity leave.

If my nanny wanted 12 weeks paid, I would have to hire a $$$ temp worker for 12 weeks.

It costs a lot in employee morale as other employees resent doing your job without extra pay. If other employees can divvy up your work then you are just extra baggage and no longer needed.

This is true and is the subject of discord in offices. But it happens in all periods of your life. I just covered for a mastectomy, cancer and a knee replacement for 50+ year olds. All were just as long as my maternity leave. People only complain about women having children though.

+1! The same happens at our office. People have taken off for surgery and to care for an ailing relative. It only seems to be an issue when it comes to maternity leave.

FMLA covers leave to take care of ailing child or parents as well as maternity leave. Emergency surgery is just that, an emergency and some elective surgery as knee or hip replacement is covered by sick leave and very few of these situations are for four or more months
Also, pregnancy is a CHOICE. So, why should the rest of us be on the hook for your CHOICE? We shouldn't. The sense of entitlement displayed by you and others is beyond the pale.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The majority of DCUM is white collar office jobs. They force the rest of the employees to cover the woman while she's on maternity leave. It costs those companies next to nothing to offer maternity leave.

If my nanny wanted 12 weeks paid, I would have to hire a $$$ temp worker for 12 weeks.

It costs a lot in employee morale as other employees resent doing your job without extra pay. If other employees can divvy up your work then you are just extra baggage and no longer needed.

This is true and is the subject of discord in offices. But it happens in all periods of your life. I just covered for a mastectomy, cancer and a knee replacement for 50+ year olds. All were just as long as my maternity leave. People only complain about women having children though.

+1! The same happens at our office. People have taken off for surgery and to care for an ailing relative. It only seems to be an issue when it comes to maternity leave.

FMLA covers leave to take care of ailing child or parents as well as maternity leave. Emergency surgery is just that, an emergency and some elective surgery as knee or hip replacement is covered by sick leave and very few of these situations are for four or more months
Also, pregnancy is a CHOICE. So, why should the rest of us be on the hook for your CHOICE? We shouldn't. The sense of entitlement displayed by you and others is beyond
the pale.

It is absolutelly in appropriate to compare maternity leave with an illness. In my late 20's, I needed to go on medical leave for a complex issue and needed 6 months out. It's not a happy time. It was stressful. Not "happy stress", or things that will pass such as being up all night for feeding or diaper changes, but more along the lines of am I gonna make it?

That being said, it is also inappropriate to say that maternity leave is entitlement. You are taking care of a human being! Yes, it is a choice (for some), but that doesn't change the need to take care of a little one.

In any case, FMLA is UNPAID!

[Anonymous]

I don’t provide paid leave for my hair dresser, plumber, etc. and those who are considered independent contractors. If they want paid leave or vacation, they need to charge me a rate that is high enough to incorporate those costs.

I do use a cleaning service for my home that provides their workers a living wage, sick leave and other benefits. We pay a bit more, but it’s worth it to know their workers are being treated well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The majority of DCUM is white collar office jobs. They force the rest of the employees to cover the woman while she's on maternity leave. It costs those companies next to nothing to offer maternity leave.

If my nanny wanted 12 weeks paid, I would have to hire a $$$ temp worker for 12 weeks.

It costs a lot in employee morale as other employees resent doing your job without extra pay. If other employees can divvy up your work then you are just extra baggage and no longer needed.

This is true and is the subject of discord in offices. But it happens in all periods of your life. I just covered for a mastectomy, cancer and a knee replacement for 50+ year olds. All were just as long as my maternity leave. People only complain about women having children though.

+1! The same happens at our office. People have taken off for surgery and to care for an ailing relative. It only seems to be an issue when it comes to maternity leave.

FMLA covers leave to take care of ailing child or parents as well as maternity leave. Emergency surgery is just that, an emergency and some elective surgery as knee or hip replacement is covered by sick leave and very few of these situations are for four or more months
Also, pregnancy is a CHOICE. So, why should the rest of us be on the hook for your CHOICE? We shouldn't. The sense of entitlement displayed by you and others is beyond
the pale.

It is absolutelly in appropriate to compare maternity leave with an illness. In my late 20's, I needed to go on medical leave for a complex issue and needed 6 months out. It's not a happy time. It was stressful. Not "happy stress", or things that will pass such as being up all night for feeding or diaper changes, but more along the lines of am I gonna make it?

That being said, it is also inappropriate to say that maternity leave is entitlement. You are taking care of a human being! Yes, it is a choice (for some), but that doesn't change the need to take care of a little one.

In any case, FMLA is UNPAID!

Yep, it's unpaid. And if it's such an issue to cover and your job is critical, they can actually give your job away to someone else or hire someone to take it over permanently while you are out. All FMLA says is they need to have some sort of comparable job waiting for you at the company when you come back--not your exact old job.

[Anonymous]

Why do you assume I can pay maternity leave for my nanny and also pay for replacement care during that time. Nanny makes 475/ week after taxes. So double that to cover a sub and you assume I have $1000/week to pay for leave? Get real. The nanny is a contractor and we pay annual leave, sick leave etc. but that’s too much. Maternity leave at corporations is spread out more and more easily absorbed as a cost and benefit provided by the employer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m a professor and a grad student works for me as a research assistant and gets paid hourly for 15 hrs per week. I continued to pay her when she gave birth and 2 months afterwards

A student making 15/hour is really dumb to have a baby in the first place. Not sure you want to support bad decision making.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do you assume I can pay maternity leave for my nanny and also pay for replacement care during that time. Nanny makes 475/ week after taxes. So double that to cover a sub and you assume I have $1000/week to pay for leave? Get real. The nanny is a contractor and we pay annual leave, sick leave etc. but that’s too much. Maternity leave at corporations is spread out more and more easily absorbed as a cost and benefit provided by the employer.

The nanny isn't a contractor, she's an employee. The Department of Labor is clear about employment categories for full-time, salaried household employees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unions! I had three months paid leave, but only because I was in a union.

No paid maternity leave and I'm in a union.

We won't ever get maternity leave without unions. We either form worker associations to negotiate for us or we remain at the mercy of employers individually. Those are the choices. Our country is a union, which benefits us by creating greater power than individual states would have. The same is true for worker unions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a professor and a grad student works for me as a research assistant and gets paid hourly for 15 hrs per week. I continued to pay her when she gave birth and 2 months afterwards

A student making 15/hour is really dumb to have a baby in the first place. Not sure you want to support bad decision making.

Lots of grad students have babies, especially in their last year. Many have a spouse who is supporting them while they're in school.