By Carmen Rios

(Excerpt)

Most nations in the world offer some form of paid leave—but the U.S. doesn’t leaving over 80 percent of workers with little financial recourse if they must take time off to care for a new child or a sick family member. Out of the 41 nations that belong to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the U.S. is the only country that does not provide some form of paid leave.

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) instead currently provides workers with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave, and only 60 percent of Americans can access even that, due to limitations on the number of employees a business has. All told, only about 19 percent of workers in the U.S. have access to paid family leave.

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