The Effect of Government-Mandated Family Leave on Employer Family Leave Policies

Charles Baum

No 200407, Working Papers from Middle Tennessee State University, Department of Economics and Finance

Abstract: The 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) guarantees employees 12 weeks of unpaid leave to address family issues. Twelve states and the District of Columbia passed similar legislation antedating the FMLA. However, studies in the economics literature find either small or insignificant effects of the legislation on employment, leave-taking, work, and wages. Perhaps employees are unable to use the mandated leave because it is unpaid and/or they do not need family leave because they already have the option of taking off work via vacation, sick leave, and disability leave policies. If so, then family leave legislation may have increased employer-provided family leave without corresponding effects on employment-related outcomes. This paper examines family leave legislation’s effects on employers’ family leave policies, finding significant positive effects.

Keywords: Labor Supply; Maternity Leave; Family and Medical Leave Act; FMLA (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J1 J2 J3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2004-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lab
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:mts:wpaper:200407

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