Leaving it to the Family: the Effects of Paid Leave on Adult Child Caregivers Research on Paid Family Leave Final Report
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About the Report
The report details a study that uses the introductions of California’s Paid Family Care Leave Act (CA-FLI) and New Jersey’s Family Leave Insurance (NJ-FLI) to examine the effects of paid-leave laws on labor market outcomes for individuals who are likely to provide care to an elderly parent. A 2012 survey of employees in the United States showed that work leaves related to the health of a family member (parent, spouse, or child) were almost as common as leaves related to caring for a newborn child (Klerman, Daley, and Pozniak, 2014). Despite the high level of work leaves to care for a family member, the number of family leave insurance (FLI) claims to care for a parent in California and New Jersey are low. Between California’s fiscal years 2006 to 2013, 71,249 caregiving leaves were taken to care for a parent, compared to 1,442,491 bonding leaves (Employment Development Department, n.d.) to care for a newborn child. In New Jersey, while leaves to care for a parent comprise a higher proportion of all leaves, between eight and nine percent, the number of parent-care leaves are still low, around 10,500 from 2010 through 2013 (NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development, n.d.). Using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and American Community Survey (ACS), researchers identify a population of likely caregivers (HRS) and estimate effects of the FLI on leave-taking, employment, and labor force participation on this population (ACS). Complementing the low take-up of FLI for parent-care, researchers find no evidence in the ACS to suggest that likely caregivers experienced changes in leave-taking, employment, or labor force participation after the implementation of the CA-FLI or NJ-FLI. Lack of awareness of both FLI legislation and its availability for caregivers may be an initial hurdle that needs to be cleared in order to increase leave taking by employed caregivers, which may ultimately mitigate negative labor market consequences of providing care. Additionally, the current structures of FLI may not be an appropriate solution for caregivers because of the intermittency, increasing intensity, or the duration of time over which leaves are necessary to provide care for the elderly.
Research Gaps
- Future research regarding the extent and nature of leave-taking needs for caregivers, and the heterogeneity of these needs, as well as restrictions to paid-leave take-up may highlight if and how paid family leave legislation can more appropriately meet any unmet leave requirements for millions of Americans. (page 28)
Citation
Morefield, B., Hoffman, A., Bray, J., Byrd, N. (2016). L & M Policy Research. Leaving it to the Family: The Effects of Paid Leave on Adult Child Caregivers. Research on Paid Family Leave. Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor.
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.