Basic Parental Leave Laws for Men

When people think of parental leave, they usually think of a mother who after delivering a baby must take time off work. However, what about the dads out there? Dads have to take time off too and they are entitled to it. Under most labor laws men and women – regardless of gender – are allowed 12 whole weeks of paternity or maternity leave without the fear that they will lose their jobs or have their benefits taken away from them. Many of these laws are put in place, because having a child is a crucial part of adulthood and it usually takes two parents to take care of a child, especially in the first few weeks. Here some of the basic parental leave laws for men.

The main law that protects working parents is called the Family and Medical Leave Act. This allows a new parent to care for their newborn and to take up to 12 weeks off of work. This law was put into place to protect parents who feared that by having a child they risked their chances of securing employment and an income. Not having an income when you become a parent can be an incredibly daunting prospect. This law ensures that parents can still have their job back and their benefits after 12 weeks.

To be eligible for this parental leave, there are a number of requirements. You must be a citizen for one and you would need to work for a specific company for up to a year or 1,200 hours without any significant breaks. While the time you worked is not measured consecutively, it is harder to gain parental leave if you took any breaks that were longer than a 7 years at a specific job. In addition, all parents are included – even single mothers who have received reproductive treatment from a California cryobank and eve single gay fathers.

Also, there are only a certain number of employers that are eligible to provide leave for new parents. These include federal agencies, schools and large private sector businesses. In order for an employer to get approval they need to have over 50 employees that work over 20 hours or more a week. These employers can include joint and part time workers, contractors and full time employees, but there must be 50 people working on the premises to be eligible. Some businesses might event try and skirt these laws, but if they meet the eligibility requirements they are required by law to offer parental leave.

Lastly, some businesses don’t have to be required by law to offer parental leave. There are ethical reasons why giving a new parent time off is important. Some employers will give a new parent more time off than 12 weeks. In some rare instances, the time off might even be paid. At the end of the day, new fathers are often left in the lurch when it comes to taking parental time off, but if you are a new father it is important to know your rights so that you can spend the quality time you need with your new infant son or daughter.