Paid Family and Medical Leave

Introduction

Paid family and medical leave (PFML) laws allow workers to take extended paid periods off work to meet caregiving obligations or address serious health conditions. Such laws complement but are distinct from paid sick leave laws, which are designed for more acute and short-term needs. Since 1993, the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) has provided job-protected, unpaid caregiving leave to covered workers, but strict eligibility constraints exclude half the workforce and does not provide for paid leave. The result is that the landscape of access to PFML for service sector workers is shaped by a patchwork of state laws and often limited voluntary company policies.

The Shift Project’s large sample of hourly service workers collects detailed information on PFML qualifying events, leave use, and worker outcomes, offering unique insight into not only hypothetical access to PFML but also its actual uptake when needed.

Key Finding: PFML is hard to access and is unequally available

PFML in the service sector is hard to access. Shift Project researchers (2023) found that a minority of respondents who experienced qualifying events that would have merited leave-taking took sufficient leave, and 40 percent took no leave at all but wanted to. 

In a Shift Project research brief (2021), we identified several key gaps in the use of leave among U.S service workers: 

  • Half of workers who experienced a qualifying event did not take leave.
  • Financial barriers were a major impediment to leave-taking.
  • Lack of job protection was another major impediment.

Even when a state does have PFML programs, there is limited awareness among workers of such laws’ existence. 

Case Study

New Jersey is at the vanguard of providing paid leave benefits in the United States. It offers expanded leave coverage for workers through its Family Leave Insurance program, Temporary Disability Insurance, and the New Jersey Family Leave Act. Yet, in a Shift Project research brief (2022), we found that many workers were unaware of these benefits. Awareness of leave benefits differed across categories including ethnicity, age, and union membership.

Access to PFML in the service sector is unequal. We employed Shift Project data to figure out the size of gender and racial/ethnic gaps in workers’ ability to take leave when needed. In a (2023) paper we showed thatwomen were more likely to take no leave or leave of insufficient length compared to men. We also found that Hispanic and Black workers were more likely to take insufficient or no leave at all, respectively, than White workers. 

Key Finding: Workers who can access sufficient leave fare better

Access to sufficient PFML improves workers’ economic security. Focusing on hourly workers who had experienced a qualifying medical or caregiving event, Shift Project researchers (2021) found that workers who took paid leave reported significantly less difficulty making ends meet and less hunger hardship than those who had similar serious health or caregiving needs but did not take paid leave. Workers who took leave were also less likely to report utility payment hardship than comparable workers who did not take leave.

Shift Project researchers (2021) found that among workers who were unsatisfied with their leave situation, 34% said they have gone hungry, 33% have deferred medical care, 42% have difficulty paying utility bills, 16% have doubled up with family to save on housing, and 7% have stayed in a shelter or other non-regular housing in the past 12 months.

Access to sufficient PFML improves workers’ well-being. The benefits of being able to take paid leave extended beyond less economic hardship.  Workers who took paid leave reported better sleep quality than those who had similar serious health or caregiving needs but did not take paid leave. Workers who took leave were also more likely to report being very or pretty happy than comparable workers who did not take leave.

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