Out of 185 nations, according to Bryce Covert and Adam Peck's look into an International Labor Organization's report, Oman, New Guinea and the United States are the only ones without a guarantee of paid maternity leave. In the States, if you have worked long enough for a company with 50 or more employees, you get 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a newborn, adopted or foster child. Only in California, New Jersey and Rhode Island is
any provision made for paid leave in these circumstances.
Paid paternity leave is worse. Some 70 nations provide that. Here are some examples:
From Covert and Peck:
In the U.S., just 12 percent of workers have access to paid family leave through their employers. Worse, less than half of all workers are covered by unpaid leave, giving them few options when they have a new child. A quarter of women either quit their jobs or are let go when a new child arrives, and of those who get only partial pay or nothing at all, a third borrow money and/or dip into savings while 15 percent go on public assistance. [...]
About 90 percent of California businesses say that it either had a positive impact or none on profitability, employee performance, and productivity, while it helped reduce turnover, saving them an estimated $89 million each year. The majority of New Jersey businesses surveyed also said that it hasn’t hurt their finances and some saw a benefit.
Last year, Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Democratic Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut
introduced the Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act, or FAMILY Act. It would provide 12 weeks of paid leave for the birth or adoption of a new child, the serious illness of an immediate family member or the worker’s own medical condition. Eligible employees could receive pay equal to 66 percent of their monthly wages, with a ceiling of $1,000 a week.
The House bill has 93 co-sponsors, the Senate bill has six, and the chances for passage are just about zilch. Here you can read some details on the proposal.