The Role of State Pfml Policies in Determining Length and Composition of Parental Leave

Background: Welcoming a new child requires parents to take time away from work, which may involve leaving the labor force, taking unpaid time off from a job that one returns to, using accrued paid time off, or using paid family leave or maternity leave offered by employers or through national, state, or local policies. The lack of a federal paid family and medical leave (PFML) policy leaves many workers without access to paid leave via their employers, leading to significant inequities in access and exposure to economic insecurity. In response to the policy vacuum, thirteen states and the District of Columbia have enacted PFML policies as of 2023. These policies vary with respect to eligibility, income replacement level, job security and length. Traditional data sources survey postpartum people just weeks after childbirth, often while they are still on leave, and provide limited information on the use of leave, leave length, and the proportion of leave that is paid or unpaid. Thus, little is known about the composition of leave and prior work has focused on single state or city case studies using data that ends at 8-weeks postpartum.

Methods: This study uses data from the Postpartum Assessment of Health Survey (PAHS), administered one year after birth in six geographically diverse states (Kansas, New Jersey, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia) and New York City to examine rates and types of family leave-taking, paid and unpaid, among respondents who gave birth in 2020 (n=4,694). New Jersey, Virginia, and NYC are jurisdictions that have implemented some version of PFML. Using linear regression models, analyses focused on respondents employed during pregnancy (n=2,857). Models control for demographic and birth characteristics and explores differences in leave composition by state-policy availability to understand the association between state PFML policies and leave use.

Results: Overall, 86.5% of working respondents reported taking some kind of family leave and 63.6% reported taking at least some paid leave. Respondents took an average of 15.24 weeks of family leave: 6.84 weeks were paid, while 12.19 weeks were unpaid. Living in a state with a PFML policy is significantly associated with longer lengths of leave: respondents in PFML states took almost 3 weeks more leave on average than those who lived in comparison states (p<0.00). Living in a PFML state is also significantly associated with the length of paid leave a postpartum person takes: respondents who lived in a PFML state took more weeks of paid leave compared to those living in a state without PFML (7.52 paid weeks vs. 6.16; p<0.00).

Conclusions: Understanding the composition of leave – paid and unpaid – supports policymakers and advocates as legislators consider state and federal PFML policies by providing evidence about leave uptake, length, and income replacement among postpartum people. Further, our findings identify challenges to economic security faced by workers who rely on unpaid leave following birth.