As MassBudget's new fact sheet explains, most working parents in Massachusetts don't currently get paid time off to bond with a new child. That's not the way it is in most of the world - or in several other states. In Rhode Island, New York, California, and New Jersey, state laws create an insurance-style system that pays a portion of the wages of parents caring for a new child or any working person who needs time away from work to care for an ill relative. These laws also protect people who may have a serious illness and are forced to leave work for an extended period of time.
Since last Mother's Day, Massachusetts has implemented an earned sick time law that allows parents to take time off from work to take a child to a medical appointment, as well as to tend to their own medical needs. That law is now enabling parents across the state to take a child to the doctor during the day when needed - rather than going to the emergency room after work. It is a modest, but important, step in creating policies that recognize the challenges that working parents face.
MassBudget's new fact sheet Paid Family and Medical Leave and Related Policies Explained describes existing leave laws in Massachusetts that help working people balance work and family obligations and examines some of the gaps in those policies that paid family and medical leave policies can address.
To read the fact sheet, click here.
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| The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (MassBudget) produces policy research, analysis, and data-driven recommendations focused on improving the lives of low- and middle-income children and adults, strengthening our state's economy, and enhancing the quality of life in Massachusetts. |
MASSACHUSETTS BUDGET AND POLICY CENTER
15 COURT SQUARE, SUITE 700
BOSTON, MA 02108
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