Now we must acknowledge that the work force has changed substantially and that our previously accepted system of family caregiving has broken down. Three out of four women are now in the work force, and our families no longer have the luxury of relying on mothers and married women to work as unpaid family caregivers. When a new child enters the family, when dad has a serious accident, or when grandma suffers a stroke, someone needs to take time off work to be the caregiver. Yet few workers today of any income level or family situation can afford to miss a paycheck. It's time to expand our work-based insurance systems to include income support for workers on family and medical leave.
Several states have a head start.
Five, including California and New York, have temporary disability-insurance programs for all workers, providing wage replacement to workers who are too ill or injured to work. These programs allow all women workers to take paid leave after childbirth, so they can recover their own strength and provide the early loving care so necessary for a child's healthy development. Several states have extended the job protections of the Family and Medical Leave Act to cover workers in smaller companies, and a number, including Washington, have considered providing unemployment insurance to parents caring for a newborn or newly adopted child. Some states are looking at establishing a new trust fund, in addition to workers' compensation and unemployment systems, which would provide income to workers on family or medical leave. These new funds would be financed through a combination of employee and employer payroll taxes.