Workers in the Obama White House are able to take advantage of family leave that's crappy in
world context but excellent in
U.S. context:
... according to Jessica Santillo, a spokesperson for the administration, the White House "provides up to six weeks of paid leave and employees can use any of their accrued leave, such as sick or annual leave, or unpaid leave, for the other six weeks." [...]
Compared to what other federal workers get ... it's downright generous. Federal workers are entitled to 12 weeks off for the birth of a child and care of a newborn, per the Family and Medical Leave Act guidelines. But they are not entitled to pay during that period.
The Obama administration is trying to draw attention to family leave policies ahead of a June 23 Summit on Working Families. "As we examine solutions for all Americans in both the private and public sectors," an administration official said, "we hope that Congress also acts to grant this benefit to workers across the federal government." Family leave shouldn't stop with federal workers, either: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) are pushing the Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act, which would create a
national insurance system providing workers with paid leave to deal with their own illness or care for a family member.
When it comes to parental or family leave, the United States is downright pathetic, as it is on so many other things that are basic, legally mandated benefits for workers in other countries. It's time for this to change.