SALT LAKE CITY, Sept. 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- A national
poll on the American family released today found that while
Americans generally support a national family leave policy,
particularly for maternity leave, they don't want new government
programs or changes to Social Security to fund it. The poll also
found that of the four family leave bills currently in Congress,
none has the support of the majority of Americans.
With paid family leave becoming more of a concern for working
parents, the fifth annual American Family Survey looked at who
takes family leave, what Americans want and how they feel about
proposed legislation. It also found that lower-income Americans are
less likely to have access to paid leave, less likely to return to
their same jobs after taking a leave, and more likely to say they
would have taken family leave in the past year if it had been
available to them.
"Americans in general support the idea of paid family leave but
differ on how it should be funded," said Deseret News Opinion
Editor Boyd Matheson. "Moreover, few
support the current proposed legislation, which would indicate that
the bills' sponsors have an uphill battle. As Congress considers
the issue of family leave, the American Family Survey provides some
interesting insight into how people view maternity leave, paternity
leave and other leaves of absence that support family
members."
The survey found that:
- Income does not seem to be a barrier to taking family leave, as
similar percentages of low-, middle- and high-income Americans say
they have recently taken at least a week or more of time away for
family reasons.
- The family leave experience differs substantially by income,
however. Low-income workers are far less likely than others to be
offered paid leave. When their employers do offer pay, it covers a
lower percentage of their typical income. In addition, lower-income
workers are less likely to return to the same job at the end of
their leave period.
-
- These income-based trends also appear to have some
racial/ethnic implications, as these differences in access to paid
leave seem to bear unequally hard on black and Hispanic
Americans.
- Americans of all different political perspectives are highly
supportive of paid time off from work when a new child is born, but
there is less agreement about the obligation to provide leave —
especially paid leave — in other circumstances. For example,
Democrats are more supportive than Republicans of providing paid
family leave beyond maternity and paternity leave. They also favor
longer periods of leave than do Republicans.
The survey also asked about four proposed bills currently in
Congress – the CRADLE Act proposed by Republicans Mike Lee and Joni
Ernst; the New Parents Act, supported by Republican
Mitt Romney; the FAMILY Act
sponsored by Democrat Rosa DeLauro;
and the Working Parents Flexibility Act proposed by Republican
John Katko – and found that no
single proposal has the support of a majority of Americans. The
poll did not reveal which bills are sponsored by Republicans or
Democrats. Survey respondents were especially pessimistic about
proposals to pay for family leave by borrowing against Social
Security benefits. In general, Americans opposed both higher taxes
and changes to existing entitlement programs in order to pay for
family leave. The most popular option for paying for family leave
involved tax breaks for companies who voluntarily provide time off
for family-related needs.
The American Family Survey is an annual, nationwide study of
3,000 Americans by the Deseret News and the Center for the Study of
Elections and Democracy at Brigham Young
University and conducted by YouGov. Now in its fifth year,
the survey seeks to understand the experiences of Americans in
their relationships, marriages and families, and how those
experiences relate to a variety of public policy issues.
These results, along will the full report and survey
methodology, are available at:
deseretnews.com/american-family-survey
The survey's findings will be discussed during a moderated panel
event at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 13:
http://www.aei.org/events/fifth-annual-american-family-survey-myths-about-families-plus-what-americans-really-think-about-paid-family-leave/
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SOURCE Deseret News