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Family leave provides an employee with a period of time off work to care for a newborn or a sick child, spouse, or parent. The 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires that employers provide 12 weeks of family leave to qualifying workers with a newborn or a sick child, spouse, or parent, but that leave is unpaid.

In contrast to the United States, most industrialized countries provide new mothers (and sometimes fathers) rights to a substantial amount of paid leave following the birth of a child. For example, Canada is fairly typical in providing a year or more of paid parental leave with 55 percent of pay replaced (up to a maximum benefit level). Conversely, the United States is one of only four nations in the world without a federal entitlement to paid parental leave (Heymann, Earle, & Hayes, 2007).

However, just as some states passed their own laws granting unpaid family leave before the FMLA, some have begun to provide employees with paid family leave (PFL) to care for a newborn or a sick child, spouse, or parent. California was the first to do so, allowing six weeks of PFL with 55 percent of usual pay replaced (up to $1,075 per week in 2014), although this leave is not job-protected and is typically not provided to public-sector employees.

California’s paid family leave statute (CA-PFL) was passed in 2002 and took effect July 1, 2004. It is financed through a payroll tax levied on employees and was added to the pre-existing Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) program that typically provides mothers with six weeks of paid leave during or just after pregnancy. Under CA-PFL, new mothers and fathers can take up to six weeks of paid leave to bond with their child (for mothers, this is in addition to the six weeks they can take under TDI); CA-PFL leave can also be used by employees with a sick, child, spouse (or domestic partner), or parent. The report reviews the impact of CA-PF since its implementation.

Research Questions

• California’s first in the nation paid family leave law came into effect 10 years ago – on July 1, 2004. What have we learned in the ensuing decade, and what are the implications for future paid leave laws, whether in other states or at the federal level?

Key Takeaways

• Access to PFL increased new mothers’ leave-taking in California by around three weeks, with the largest effects probably occurring among disadvantaged women who took the shortest leaves before the law came into effect. The program may also have increased leave-taking by fathers, albeit by smaller amounts. Medium-term effects on women’s employment and wages also appear to be positive.
• The program positively affected children and families. In particular, having access to PFL increased breast-feeding and mothers’ time spent on child care.
• The law has not caused major problems for California employers. The vast majority (roughly 90 percent) report positive effects or no effects in terms of productivity, profitably, retention, and morale. Small employers, if anything, report fewer problems than large firms.

Citation

Bartel, A., Baum, C., Rossin-Slater, M., Ruhm, C., Waldfogel, J. (2014). California’s Paid Family Leave Law: Lessons from the First Decade. Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor.

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The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) sponsors independent evaluations and research, primarily conducted by external, third-party contractors in accordance with the Department of Labor Evaluation Policy and CEO’s research development process.