Family Forward Policies

Parental Leave

Paid family leave is paid leave for the birth, adoption, or acceptance of foster placement of a child that is separate from vacation or sick leave.

Benefits to Employers^{Footnote # 1}

Increases or does not decrease productivity
Improves recruitment
Increases likelihood that new mothers will come back to work (and to same employer) and stay employed
Increases likelihood that new fathers will stay employed
Reduces turnover costs through increased retention
Improves morale and job satisfaction

Benefits to Children^{Footnote # 2}

Increases birthweight
Reduces infant mortality
Improves health care
Increases well-baby care
Increases immunization rates
Supports child development
Increases educational attainment
Increases IQ
Increases test scores
Reduces behavioral/mental health problems
Improves regular school attendance
Reduces teen pregnancy rates
Increases wages as adults

Benefits to Parents/Families^{Footnote # 3}^,^{Footnote # 4}

Improves family incomes
Increases initiation and length of breastfeeding
Decreases maternal depression and stress
Increases paternal engagement in caregiving
Increases job satisfaction
Builds healthier parent-child relationships
Reduces wage gap between women and men
Reduces wage gap between mothers and childless women
Reduces stigma of taking leave
Increases gender equality
Workers are more likely to remain in the workforce, increasing family economic security

Research or Recommendations from National Organizations

Based on a survey of independent research and recommendations from national medical organizations, the minimum paid family leave an employer should offer is six weeks, but the optimal paid parental leave ranges from 12 weeks to six months per parent, depending on the health and well-being outcome measured.

The American Public Health Association, the Society of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Pediatric Policy Council recommend a minimum of 12 weeks of paid parental leave.
The American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecology recommends a minimum of six weeks of leave with 100 percent of pay.
The Better Life Lab, a program of the nonpartisan think tank New America, recommends a minimum of six months of paid maternity leave for maternal health and well-being and one year of paid leave, evenly split between parents, for infant health and well-being. ^{Footnote # 5}
A Harvard University study published in 2020 recommends a national, mandated paid parental leave of at least 12 weeks to optimize health and well-being benefits for children and parents. ^{Footnote # 6}

1 in 4 mothers in the U.S. returns to work less than two weeks after giving birth. ^{Footnote # 7}

Range of Practices in the United States

Though the number of employers offering paid parental leave has steadily increased in recent years, 76% of North Carolina employees still do not have access to paid family leave following a birth, adoption, or foster placement. If women in North Carolina participated in the labor force at the same rate as women in countries with paid leave, there would be an estimated 180,000 additional workers in the state and $5.7 billion more wages earned statewide. ^{Footnote # 8}

Access to leave varies widely by income level. Just six percent of workers in the lowest 20 percent of income bracket have access to paid parental leave, compared to 43 percent of workers in the highest 10 percent of income bracket.^{Footnote # 9}

For low-wage employees and employees of color, the percentage of people who have access to any amount of paid leave is much lower. Access to paid leave varies widely by industry and remains highly skewed toward industries requiring advanced degrees and employees with higher incomes. ^{Footnote # 10}

In October of 2020 the Federal Employee Paid Leave Act granted federal employees 12 weeks of paid leave following the birth or placement of a child.

In May of 2019, Gov. Roy Cooper issued an Executive Order providing paid parental leave to approximately 56,000 North Carolina state agency employees.

In 2023, the State Board of Education adopted new rules that provide up to 8 weeks of paid parental leave for public school employees, including those who work in public schools, the UNC System and community colleges, following the birth of a child. The rules also include up to four weeks paid leave after an adoption or foster placement. Part-time employees are eligible at a prorated share of hours.

The United States is the only developed nation in the world and one of only a small handful of countries with no national paid leave policy.

The other countries are Papua New Guinea, Suriname, and a few small South Pacific island countries.

There has been no significant movement towards universal access at the federal level since the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993, which only provides unpaid leave for eligible employees.

The Federal Employee Paid Leave Act of 2019 did extend paid parental leave to federal employees and has already had a notable impact on recruitment and retention: 19% of employees say that the access to paid parental leave influenced their decision to take a job with the Federal Government, and 26% of employees say that it influenced their decision to remain in a Federal position ^{Footnote # 11}

As of 2025, thirteen states have passed paid family and medical leave laws:

California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey,24 New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington state, as well as Washington, D.C. Two other states, New Hampshire and Vermont, have enacted voluntary laws that provide paid leave only to private sector employers or employees who opt in by purchasing coverage, with guaranteed coverage for state employees. ^{Footnote # 12}

In North Carolina, Governor Roy Cooper issued an executive order in 2019 to provide paid parental leave to all state employees under his purview.

Other large employers, such as the UNC system and nearly 30 state and local governments, soon followed suit. In 2023, North Carolina legislators extended paid parental leave to all public school employees. However, the vast majority of North Carolina employees still do not have access to paid leave.

For parents without paid leave, quitting their current job or leaving the workforce altogether is a real consideration.

New parenthood is an extremely vulnerable career moment, which poses a retention risk for businesses: 73 percent of new parents consider leaving their company at least “occasionally.” ^{Footnote # 13} Nearly all (94%) of mothers say they would now consider their company’s parental leave policy when evaluating a job offer. ^{Footnote # 14}

Even with paid leave policies in place, parents say they feel pressure to return to work and suffer career consequences from taking leave.

One in three parents feel they’ve been overlooked for a promotion as a result of taking parental leave. One in five parents feel pressured to return to work early or not to take all the leave their employer offers. More than half of mothers (53 percent) and 36 percent of fathers surveyed say the leave offered by their employer is insufficient.

Get a sample policy

Case Study

North Carolina Early Childhood Foundation

Location: Raleigh • Year Founded: 2013 • Number of Employees: 4

Every day, the staff of the North Carolina Early Childhood Foundation (NCECF) works to fulfill the Raleigh-based nonprofit’s mission to build a foundation of opportunity and success for every child by the end of third grade.

But despite NCECF’s focus on early childhood initiatives, the organization did not have a policy for paid parental leave until spring of this year. As a small nonprofit with a staff of four employees—all of whom have older children—NCECF had not had a pregnant employee on the team since the organization was founded in 2013.

Then Sumera Syed, who joined the staff part time in 2016 as NCECF’s organizational manager, announced her first pregnancy, and Executive Director Tracy Zimmerman realized it was time to create a parental leave policy.

“Like many small businesses, we hadn’t addressed the policy because we hadn’t needed to,” Zimmerman says. “However, once we had an immediate need, we wanted to create a policy that would not only help us keep Sumera, but would reflect research about policies that make a positive impact on child and family health and would help us attract and retain talent in the future as we grow.”

“We wanted to create a policy that would reflect research about policies that make a positive impact on child and family health.”

Now, NCECF offers 12 weeks of fully paid leave to mothers and fathers following the birth or adoption of a child. What’s more, leave is available to full- and part-time employees who work at least 20 hours a week.

Because NCECF did not have a policy in place when Syed was first pregnant, she was nervous about whether she’d be able to continue to work for the organization after her baby was born.

“At the time, I was scared about the decision I would have to make between my career and my child,” Syed says.

But Syed, who returned from her leave in June, says she is proud of NCECF for creating a policy that is comprehensive and inclusive of full-time and part-time employees.

“As a part-time employee, I am still 100 percent committed to the organization and want to grow and have lasting career plans,” she says.

Sample benefits at North Carolina Early Childhood Foundation

Employer paid medical insurance
Paid time off and paid holidays
12 weeks of paid parental leave

401K retirement plan
Life and accidental death and dismemberment insurance

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