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This Article examines the change over the past few decades in U.S. law and societal attitudes concerning a worker’s right to job-protected, paid leave. Though common around the world, job-protected, paid leave eludes the U.S. workforce.... more
This Article examines the change over the past few decades in U.S. law and societal attitudes concerning a worker’s right to job-protected, paid leave. Though common around the world, job-protected, paid leave eludes the U.S. workforce. The authors begin by considering the concept of work, its relation to identity, and the construction of safety nets for workers when they need income replacement. The Article considers the movement to establish job-protected, paid leave that encompasses and values a worker’s work, family, and personal life. The modern movement originated with pregnant workers’ need for time away from work during pregnancy. Women who believed that employer policies had discriminated against them on account of pregnancy did not fare well in early cases. As a response Congress enacted the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) in 1978, amending Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and defining discrimination on account of pregnancy as prohibited sex discrimination. This a...