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Woman baffled FMLA/maternity leave is unpaid in America

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Mustafa Gatollari - Author
Woman baffled FMLA/maternity leave is unpaid in America
Source: TikTok | @appelbeeslover101

A bewildered woman just learned that FMLA leave is unpaid, and she expressed her confusion about this fact, stating that it seems unfair to expect a woman to help “populate the earth” and deal with “trauma” that this entails for twelve weeks. away without a paycheck.

Emily (@applebeeslover101) shared her frustration at learning this fact in a viral TikTok that has been viewed more than 1.3 million times on the popular social media platform.

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“I feel kinda weird because I didn’t realize it – don’t come for me, I didn’t know – I didn’t need to know and I don’t even need to know now, but I didn’t realize I was pregnant on leave, FMLA, the law, is 12 weeks unpaid leave, right?” she says into the camera, looking confused.

“What?” she continues. “What? I’m so sorry my body suffered a trauma. You’re literally pushing something out of you, or you’re having it cut out. Oh, that takes time to heal, and besides, you have a whole new being that needs to be watched like a hawk for a while.

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She continued to emphasize how unfair she thinks it is that there is no legislature that protects women’s salaries for a certain period of time and guarantees a salary while they are pregnant and/or in the aftermath of childbirth.

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“We populate the earth. I don’t, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I just think it’s crazy. Who can I sue? The government?” she asks after slapping her arms against the sides of her hips and shaking her head.

“When you can’t afford to bond with your child,” she wrote in the video’s caption. One commenter wrote that “the US is only one of six countries in the world without paid maternity leave.”

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TikTok: Woman baffled FMLA/maternity leave is unpaid in America
Source: TikTok | @appelbeeslover101

NoCeilings.org apparently supports this information; however, two more countries were added to that figure. The newspaper writes: “The United States, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Suriname and Tonga are the only countries in the world that do not provide paid leave for working mothers after their mothers leave datum. birth.”

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The newspaper wrote: “Paid leave is an important way for governments to support women and families.”

In December 2023, The Washington Post reported on a bipartisan bill that has gained support among members of both the GOP and DNC. Lawmakers aim to create federally mandated paid leave plans for all U.S. workers

Paid Leave for All is another initiative that people could get behind to demand that the Senate and Congress use the tax dollars they collect from citizens to support “caregivers” and family members during emergencies, so they can their personal lives and loved ones without having to worry about missing out on the paychecks necessary for their survival.

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TikTok: Woman baffled FMLA/maternity leave is unpaid in America
Source: TikTok | @appelbeeslover101

The website even offers a form where people can enter their state and local government representatives’ information to encourage them to support the initiative, and it even includes a copy-and-paste message that individuals can then use to send to various political leaders .

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There are some who argue that promises of paid maternity leave, like universal health care in the United States, are ultimately a pipe dream, as elected government officials ultimately want to serve the interests of the corporations that donate generously to their campaigns.

Companies would ultimately benefit the least from a boost to paid leave for all because they will have to foot the bills for more employees who are out of the office or logged in remotely online, raking in profits for the company. So why would individuals funded by these companies jeopardize their payouts?

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TikTok: Woman baffled FMLA/maternity leave is unpaid in America
Source: TikTok | @appelbeeslover101

However, depending on the sector you work in or the company you work for, paid parental leave is possible; companies just have to choose it, and the good news is that there are plenty of American companies offering employees big parental leave plans.

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Netflix, for example, gives mothers as much as 52 weeks of paid leave regardless of a parent’s gender, according to Tech.co: “Nexflix is ​​an exemplary case study when it comes to generous parental leave. The streaming giant is offering new parents a staggering 52 weeks of paid leave – giving employees even more free time to care for their children than in countries like Norway and Germany. This benefit is eligible for both men and women and is even extended to adoptive parents. But despite employees being entitled to nearly a full year of paid leave, the company reports that most new parents take between four and eight months of leave.”

TikTok: Woman baffled FMLA/maternity leave is unpaid in America
Source: TikTok | @appelbeeslover101