Family and medical leave allows employees to take paid time off to care for a long-term medical issue for themselves, their children, or a loved one or to address needs during a long-term absence from work, such as a military deployment.
Benefits to Employers
- Increases productivity
- Does not impact profits
- Increases retention, reducing turnover costs
- Reduces employee absenteeism
- Provides healthier work environment
- Reduces health care costs
- Workers recover from disability, illness, or injury more quickly
- Increases loyalty
Benefits to Children
- Encourages use of preventative health care
- Children recover more quickly from illness and injury when parents are available to care for them
Benefits to Parents/Families
- Encourages use of preventative health care
- Workers recover from disability, illness, or injury more quickly
Range of Practices in the United States
Just 15 percent of workers have access to paid leave to care for their own long-term illness or the long-term illness of a child.
As of 2015, federal contractors must provide at least seven days of paid sick and family medical leave to employees for preventative care, an existing health condition, illness or injury.
The US is one of the few developed, industrialized nations that does not require paid family and medical leave by federal law.
Twenty-eight percent of private industry workers and 70 percent of public industry workers have access to paid military leave.
Under Montana law, employers are required to offer unpaid leave for employees called into active or emergency military duty. Paid leave is not required.
