Running head: PAID MATERNITY LEAVE: CAN THE U.

S ALIGN 1

Paid Maternity Leave: Can the U.S. Align with the Rest of the World?

Martha Torres

MGT 360

Siena Heights University

PAID MATERNITY LEAVE: CAN THE U.S. ALIGN 2

References

Boushey, H. (2009). A family-leave safety net: how to make paid time off an option for all

workers, not just a perk available to some. The American Prospect. Retrieved from

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This article by Heather Bushey describes how due to a lack of federal legislation mandating

employers to provide some sort of paid family leave, many workers are left behind. The author

describes that some employers do offer some type of paid family leave as part of their benefit

package and how it is usually made available only to those who already earn higher wages and

have a Bachelors degree or higher education. The article also presents the opposition of small

and family-owned business to provide employees with paid leave and an alternative for

employees to use some of their future Social Security benefits to pay for maternity and other

family-related leaves. The quality of the article seems appropriate for the assignment. The

American Prospect Journal is a political journal that incites liberal thinking and the information

presented in this article seeks to provide alternatives on the implementation of paid family leave.

Although the way in which the alternatives are outlined can be perceived as biased in favor of

paid leave. The ideas presented in this article are relevant to the research project on paid

maternity leave and its possible universal implementation in the U.S. and will be used to focus

on the negative aspects of the lack of current legislation as well as on presenting non-employer

alternatives.
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Dias, L. (2011). Human Resource Management. Saylor.org/books. ISBN 13: 978-1-4533194-3-

7. Downloaded Jan. 9, 2014 from

https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/BookDetail.aspx?bookId=71

This textbook gives a good and easy to read overview of the main functions of Human Resource

Management as well as summaries on the federal laws pertaining to labor and employment.

Chapter three gives a brief description of the current provisions of the FMLA rule as it pertains

to pregnancy and family leave. The text also defines and gives examples of recruiting and

retaining strategies through attractive compensation packages in Chapter six. The information

presented in the textbook is highly informative and factual and avoids bias; thus, making it a

highly valid and usable source. The concepts and definitions found in the textbook will certainly

be applied to the final research paper as the subject of paid maternity leave directly influences

how HRM strategic plans are created and their function in protecting the organization from legal

action and in recruiting and retaining employees to reduce turnover and increase satisfaction and

productivity.

Dusenberry, M. (2015). How America's Lack of Paid Maternity Leave Worsens Inequality.

Pacific Standard. Retrieved from https://psmag.com/economics/cmon-america

The author of this article does an acceptable job at expressing her view that the lack of paid

maternity leave and the current FMLA provisions actually increase inequality among female

workers, instead of providing relief. This source also stresses the fact that those affected by the

lack of federal legislation are those women whose socioeconomic status already reflects their

disadvantaged financial and educational conditions. The article was found in the Pacific

Standard which is a magazine that presents writings pertaining to private behaviors and public

policies with a focus on economic, education, and social justice items. The author may be biased
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given the type of magazine she writes for; however, the ideas presented offer a relevant topic of

discussion for the research paper and present a possible societal consequence of the lack of paid

maternity leave. Therefore, some of the assumptions of this article will be incorporated in the

final paper.

Hamm, K., & Glynn, S. J. (2016). Aiding Families, Boosting the Economy: It's Time We Saw

Support for Child Care and Paid Leave as Central to Both Economic Growth and Family

Well-being. The American Prospect. Retrieved from

https://lcc.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://go.galegroup.com.lcc.idm.oclc.org/ps/i.do?p=AO

NE&sw=w&u=lom_lansingcc&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA469501781&asid=86237c0

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This article introduces a few different points on the subject of maternity leave. It describes the

lack of a federal legislation as the consequence of seeing family leave as issues pertaining only to

women. In addition, the author gives a brief explanation of current FMLA rules and introduces

the concept of some states that have already approved laws to make paid family leave

mandatory. The article also adds on to maternity and family leave and mentions the possibility of

child care as part of an integral plan to promote family well-being and develop integration of

women to the workforce to grow the economy. Finally, the 2016 article provides summaries of

proposals from the 2016 presidential campaigns on the subject. This article has several

components and it was written by the author for the American Prospect; a liberal-thinking

journal. The quality of the material is good but given its length, the several issues presented are

only touched on briefly and not much detail is given. Some informational pieces may be used for

the final research paper, but this article significantly focuses on child care which takes away

from the main research topic of paid maternity leave.

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Mcelroy, W. (2014). The FAMILY Act is Smart Politics but Bad for Business. The Hill.

Retrieved from http://theahill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/healthcare/219766-the-family-act-

is-smart-politics-but-bad-for-the-economy

This article provides a brief overview of the FAMILY Act as initially proposed in 2013. The

article gives a brief explanation of what the Act entitles but mainly focuses on how more than a

proposal to create a more just work environment for women, the Act will end up harming

business economically. The article also presents the proposal of the Act as apolitical strategy by

the Democratic party to attract voters. The Hill is an important newspaper focusing on reporting

political events. Therefore, this article can be seen as a reliable source although awareness of

possible bias is important. The value of this article for the research paper on paid maternity leave

resides in the fact that it presents an opposing view rather than a supporting one. Therefore the

publication will be used in the final paper as a contacting view on the economic and political

implications of a federal regulation allowing paid maternity leave for women.

Neckermann, C. (2017). An International Embarrassment: The United States as an Anomaly in

Maternity Leave Policy. Harvard International Review. Retrieved from

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Author Christina Necerkmann expresses the cultural differences that have caused the U.S. to fall

behind other countries, especially European nations, in terms of implementing a paid maternity

leave law. The author states that the high entrepreneurial spirit of Americans combined with a

culture of individualism has prevented such a regulation from happening. The article also gives a

brief explanation of the FMLA and its provisions. The quality of both the article and the source
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is acceptable and suitable for this assignment. The Harvard International Review is a prestigious

publication that focuses on international relations and politics; hence, the focus of the article in

describing how other countries have managed to successfully implement paid maternity leave.

This article is an appropriate source of information and provides ideas that no other articles have

provided this far; it focuses on the cultural values of the American society and their perceptions

of social justice.

Rau, H., & Williams, J. (2017). A Winning Parental Leave Policy can be Surprisingly Simple.

Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2017/07/a-winning-parental-

leave-policy-can-be-surprisingly-simple

Two authors present this article in the Harvard Business Review. The article introduces a fresh

concept relative to paid maternity leave and focuses on neutral gender leave. The authors suggest

that by eliminating the current FMLA provision that forces the employee to prove herself as the

primary caregiver, families of same-sex couples and those whose primary breadwinner will also

be able to benefit from paid leave. The authors are both female lawyers and professors at the

University of California which makes them a trustable source for topics of employment law. The

journal where the article was retrieved is notorious for publishing pieces that relate to various

areas of management, including human resources. The article is short, but the information

presented can add to the different ideas that will be presented in the research paper. It focuses on

one specific idea rather than giving briefs of several other topics which makes it a viable source.

Rubin, R. (2016). U.S. Dead Last Among Developed Countries When It Comes to Paid

Maternity Leave. Forbes. Retrieved from

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ritarubin/2016/04/06/united-states-lags-behind-all-other-

developed-countries-when-it-comes-to-paid-maternity-leave/#55f9e4c58f15
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This article by Forbes.com focuses on the health benefits of paid maternity leave for both the

mother and the newborn child. It gives brief explanations of the physiological changes that come

after delivering a baby as well as on the attachment needs of infants. The article then goes on to

describe the how paid maternity leave can improve the overall health and well-being of children.

Like most other sources, it also gives a brief introduction to FMLA. The article is repetitive on a

few of its components and the information regarding current Family Medical Leave legislation is

recurring. However, this piece is the first to concentrate on the physiological and emotional

benefits of having a law that makes paid maternity leave mandatory. Therefore, those arguments

will be incorporated in the final paper. The source of the article, Forbes.com is a reliable site to

inquire about business, politics, and economic issues.

The Economic Benefits of Paid Leave: Fact Sheet. (2015). Joint Economic Committee: United

States Congress. Retrieved from

https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/e67be3d6-91e7-4e74-8fd7-

beac76da2455/jecfactsheet.pdf

This factsheet was found in the Joint Economic Committees website and it gives a list of several

social and economic benefits that would result if legislation on paid medical leave was approved.

For example, the fact sheet lists improved financial security, increased business productivity, and

economic growth as arguments in favor of a legislation. Additionally, it suggests better family

and social conditions as a result of paid leave. It also focuses on economic benefits of a

legislation that provides paid sick leave. This fact sheet was written by the Democratic Staff of

the Joint Economic Committee. Consequently, it carries an explicit political bias, which makes

the source lack impartiality. It lacks an authors name and it also fails to provide any narrative
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besides that of supporting its assumptions. The viewpoints given are relevant to the assignment

on paid maternity leave and they may be incorporated in the research paper using caution.

The Trump Administration at Six Months: Labor and Employment. (2017). Labor Law Journal.

Retrieved from https://search-proquest-

com.lcc.idm.oclc.org/docview/1936467810?accountid=1599

This article published by the Labor Law Journal provides an overview of what the current

presidential administration has accomplished or proposed so far in 2017 as it pertains to labor

and employment regulations. Among several other topics, a proposal by President Trumps

administration on providing up to six weeks of paid maternity and/or paternity leave is presented

in the article. It also compares and contrasts this plan with other legislative proposals such as the

FAMILY Act and the Strong Families Act. The article is of unknown author but the journal

featuring the piece is a reliable source of information dedicated to the publication of articles

regarding employment laws and worker-manager relations. This article is particularly significant

to the final research paper since it differs from other articles that mainly describe the current

laws. This piece presents an opportunity to analyze current and future legislation proposals and

whether their implementation will solve the social justice issue of unpaid maternity leave.