Paternity Leave: Why Aren

In 1993, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) granted American men and women up to 12 weeks of unpaid time off from their jobs for the birth or adoption of a child. This period of time off is generally known as family leave or parental leave. For women, it is commonly called maternity leave; for men, it may be referred to as paternity leave.

To be eligible for parental leave under the FMLA, a person has to work for a federal, state, or local public agency or an organization that has 50 or more employees working within a 75-mile radius. He or she must have worked for the organization for at least 12 months and for at least 1,250 hours during the past 12 months. If a person meets these criteria, the FMLA requires that his or her employer continue paying for employer-sponsored benefits during the family leave and allow the employee to come back to the same or a similar position upon his or her return.

In addition to the parental leave established by the FMLA, some states have their own family leave laws, which are often more generous than the provisions of the FMLA. What