THE GUARDIAN: San Francisco is the first U.S. city to mandate paid paternal leave.
The U.S. is the only developed country that doesn’t guarantee paid maternity or parental leave to workers. San Francisco’s legislation, adopted on Tuesday, is an important step forward in a long campaign to bring the country up to speed with all other industrialized nations that have paid leave laws, which experts say carry tremendous health benefits for parents and children.
California is one of only five states that have some form of a paid family leave program on the books, though San Francisco’s bill – passed unanimously after supporters rallied on the steps of City Hall – is more advanced than existing U.S. laws by mandating that businesses pay mothers and fathers their full wages during a six-week leave period.
