The U.S. employment practices are not among the most generous in the world, and fall behind European countries. For example, Austria provides its citizens the most generous holiday entitlements in the world, with some government personnel entitled to as many as 43 days per year, including public holidays.
Just as annual leave varies, so does parental leave (commonly divided into maternity and paternity leave). In recent years, parental leave policies have experienced a shift. This comes as companies and governments seek to make adjustments to address changing demographics and societal norms.
With parental leave, as far as U.S. legislation goes, both parents are entitled to 12 weeks unpaid leave (under the Family and Medical Leave Act). Out of the 185 countries and territories surveyed by the International Labor Organization, all but two provide cash benefits to women during maternity leave. The two exceptions are Papua New Guinea and the U.S. Both of these exceptions provide some form of maternity leave but have no general legal provision for cash benefits. In the U.K., a father is entitled to two weeks paid paternity leave.
To help to drive up U.S. labor practices, Microsoft has announced that it will require all of its U.S.-based suppliers and vendors with more than 50 employees to offer such benefits. The move is significant since Microsoft works with over 1,000 organizations in the U.S.
The website Axios speculates that Microsoft’s move may lead to more companies offering paid parental leave.
