Time Off, With Pay?

Massachusetts leads a push across the U.S. to give paid family leave to every worker

Every new parent knows that havingĀ a baby means weeks without sleep. Should it also mean weeks without a paycheck? That's the stark choice confronting Shannon Thomas, 21, a preschool teacher in southeastern Massachusetts. Her employer, the Boys and Girls Club of Taunton, agreed to hold her job for about six weeks after her June 18 due date but didn't offer any paid maternity leave. "My rent, food, the hospital--those costs aren't going away," Thomas says. So she quit her $500-a-week job three weeks ago and applied for state welfare assistance. "I'd rather work," she says. "But I had to get whatever...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!