This Father’s Day, as we celebrate the fathers, father figures, and caregivers in our lives, let’s give them the greatest gift of all: time to care for their loved ones.
Here at A Better Balance, we believe that all fathers deserve the right to take time off from work after welcoming a new child. But 40% of the workforce is not covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act, with many covered workers financially unable to take advantage of the unpaid leave it grants. And too many state and local paid leave laws and individual workplace policies have built-in assumptions that women will be doing that majority of the caregiving—forcing men to go back to work too soon after the birth, adoption, or fostering of a child.
Not only does structurally placing the burden of childcare on women hurt women’s careers and perpetuate the wage gap—policies like these deny men the opportunity to spend precious bonding time with their children early-on, and exclude single dads and LGBTQ dads entirely.
We’re fighting to change that, state by state, by passing paid family & medical laws that include all caregivers and their loved ones. Most recently, with our help, Connecticut passed the nation’s eighth paid family and medical leave law, guaranteeing 12 weeks of leave with a generous wage replacement level and job protection and providing a model for an eventual federal solution.
So in honor of Father’s Day, make sure you know your rights and familiarize yourself with the paid family & medical leave laws and other workplace protections in your state. And join us as we continue pushing for policies that ensure no father, husband, partner, brother, or dear friend ever again has to choose between caring for a loved one and earning a paycheck.
