Health Policy Brief: Paid Family and Medical Leave

Health Policy Brief: Paid Family and Medical Leave
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Health Policy Brief: Paid Family and Medical Leave
Recently, the public has debated rigorously concerning the issues arising from the dual demands of their employment and family priorities and also the importance of modern work environments to become more responsive to their various needs especially concerning paid family and medical leave. The paper will advocate for the need for family and medical leave for employees and also the importance of this policy to be established across all workplaces.
Analysis of the current state of the Paid Family and Medical Leave Policy
The Family and Medical Leave Act was established in 1993 in the U.S and require some enterprises to offer unpaid leave to some employees for urgent medical and family care needs. Most supporters of the mandatory paid family and medical leave emphasize that the United States need to amend this policy of compulsory paid leave that other similarly wealthy nations have already initiated (Findlay, 2016). The hidden costs of the status quo and also the substantial evidence has highlighted that paid leave is highly essential for workers. Such a policy will improve family financial stability, public health and is also advantageous for employers and even for their workers.
Several opponents of the amendment have argued that such a policy will place a significant strain on enterprises and must only be offered as an optional benefit should they decide on providing the benefit (Findlay, 2016). Also, these individuals have pointed out that several large and mid-level organizations offer paid leave to full-time employees, and this is an excellent example of an alternative system.
Importance of the policy
Paid family and medical leave is an essential step towards modernizing the workplace. In various work environments, both men and women regardless of their backgrounds and political affiliations, support a highly comprehensive program (Milkman & Appelbaum, 2013). Paid parental leave has substantial positive impacts on the child’ and parents’ state of health and family economic security. A person’s life-long health is significantly determined by the age of two (Guerin & England, 2018). Adverse effects early in life, including the family burdens induced by instances of economic insecurity and poverty, can have detrimental outcomes on emotional and physical health, and also on social and economic consequences.
Paid medical leave assists in cushioning the economic impact especially when individuals have an accident that causes severe injury or encounters an adverse health condition that interferes with their ability to work. An aging workforce places numerous people at risk of developing health conditions such as heart disease and cancer (Milkman & Appelbaum, 2013). In states such as California and New Jersey, the claims of family leave ...