A cornerstone of the tense budget negotiations on Capitol Hill was federally-mandated paid family or medical leave that would have given employees 12 weeks to care for a new child, recover from a personal illness, or tend to a sick loved one.
While nearly all industrialized nations have some sort of national paid family leave policy, the United States still does not and never has. Currently, the federal government mandates most U.S. workers can take 12 weeks of unpaid leave and not be in jeopardy of losing their jobs.
