U.S. workplace less family friendly, according to Harvard, McGill study

A study released by Harvard and McGill University researchers Feb. 1 says the United States lags behind nearly all wealthy nations in providing family-oriented workplace policies.

"More countries are providing the workplace protections that millions of Americans can only dream of," said Jody Heymann, the study’s lead author and founder of the Harvard-based Project on Global Working Families.

Researchers studied 173 countries and found that 168 guarantee paid maternity leave, with 98 of them providing 14 or more weeks. The United States does not require paid leave for mothers, putting it on a list with Lesotho, Liberia, Swaziland and Papua New Guinea as the only countries studied that don’t provide paid maternity leave. The study also found that at least 134 countries have laws that fix the maximum length of the work week, while the United States does not have a maximum work week length.

At least 126 countries require employers to provide a day of rest each week for workers, but the United States does not. And 137 countries require employers to provide paid annual leave, while the U.S. does not, according to a news release from McGill University.

At least 145 countries provide paid sick days for short- or long-term illnesses, with 127 providing a week or more annually, the study found. The United States provides unpaid leave only for serious illnesses through the Family & Medical Leave Act, which does not cover all workers, and has no federal law providing for paid sick days. (BP)