Posted by: Andrea Fulle
22 November 2015
Link: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/542824/news/nation/senate-panels-ok-increasing-paid-maternity-leave-to-100-days
This article caught my attention because most of the news regarding maternity leave is about either other countries or about specific companies in the U.S., not about government policy in the United States. The bill states that “any pregnant employee in government service, regardless of employment status, shall be granted a maternity leave of 100 days, with full pay based on her average weekly or regular wages, regardless if the delivery was normal or caesarian.”
Yet, it is important to note who the new provisions do not apply to, as it is often those who need it most that are unable to use it. The exceptions are: “those operating distressed establishments; those retail/service establishments employing not more than 10 workers; those who pay their workers on a purely commission, boundary, or task basis, and those who are paid a fixed amount for performing a specific work; those considered as micro business enterprises and engaged in the production, processing, or manufacturing or products or commodities including agro-processing, trading, and services whose total assets are not more than P3 million; and those who are already providing similar or more than the benefits herein provided.”
This article demonstrates how complicated legislation for maternity leave really is. Also, paid leave is extremely complicated because the various forms of wage (salary, commission, a combination of the two, etc) make it difficult to form “one-size-fits-all” policies.
Also, this article also left me with the impression that I am a bit rusty when it comes to how exactly a bill is passed.