Attempts at Family Friendly Legislation
Attempts at Maternity Leave Legislation
1919: The US government came close to signing on to an International Labor Organization agreement supported by 33 countries:
“Women workers should receive cash benefits in addition to job-protected leave for 12 weeks in the period surrounding childbirth.”
“US is one of the few great countries which as yet have no system of assistance in maternity.”
Other early proponents of maternity benefits insisted that protections and income for pregnant women should be part of national health care (which they thought would be enacted soon) – instead of a labor agreement.
1940s: The Labor Department’s Women’s Bureau recommended that women get six weeks of prenatal leave, as well as two months following childbirth. Just as pressure for change was mounting, the war ended, men returned home to reclaim their jobs, and the drive ended.
Until 1978: It was legal in most states to fire women for becoming pregnant.
The debate over maternity leave served as a proxy for tensions surrounding the presence of women in the workplace. This was defended as a way to encourage women to return to the home.
1984: Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.) spearheaded a national proposal for maternity leave based on California’s model.
The proposal was defeated by feminist groups who worried that drawing attention to maternity would jeopardize the gains being made in equal opportunity issues.
1980s: Congress debated what would become the Family and Medical Leave Act.
The definition of what “leave” should include shifted from only mothers to new parents, and finally to all workers who needed to care for family members. The prospect of so many workers being eligible for leave made business interests more aggressive in efforts to ensure that the leave would be unpaid.
After years of debate, during which Sen. Bob Dole filibustered and Pres. George H.W. Bush twice vetoed legislation, Clinton finally signed a watered-down bill in 1993.
Joan C. Williams University of California Hastings Center for Work Life Law Reshaping the Work Family Debate
1925: Institute to Coordinate Women’s Interests was founded. One of the first groups that attempted to assist women in balancing work and family. They attempted to arrange domestic chores around working women’s needs and tried to establish communal nurseries, laundries and kitchens.
1930s: The Works Progress Administration (WPA) established government funded day nurseries as an emergency measure to create jobs for unemployed teachers, custodians and cooks.
A report from the White House Conference on Children, however, stated “No one should get the idea that Uncle Sam is going to rock the baby to sleep” in response to the suggestion that the Federal Government become involved in supporting child care.
1933: Federal Economy Act required that one spouse resign if both husband and wife are working for the Federal Government. 75% of those resigning are women.
1939: US Tax Court ruled that a working mother cannot deduct the expense of hiring a nursemaid to care for her child from her income for tax purposes. Child care is ruled to be an inherently personal duty.
1940: The Lanham Act was passed to provide funds for building defense-related industries. Federal funds for child care facilities were included to support working mothers joining the war effort. The Children’s Bureau called them “baby parking stations.”
1942: The draft decimated the ranks of working men, so the government reversed the depression-era restrictions on employment of women. Some employers offered day care, meals and transportation to make it easier for women with families to work. As the war came to an end, Franklin Roosevelt stated, “We do not believe further Federal funds should be provided for actual operation of child care programs. Child care is a war need only.”
Hundreds of child care centers closed.
1950s: Hospitals faced a critical shortage of nurses. Nursing administrators at many hospitals set up successful on-site day care centers. This set the stage for employer-sponsored child care in other corporate settings. Middle and upper income families began to send their children to nursery schools, viewing it as an enriching experience. A Childrens’ Bureau report showed only 4% of working mothers used child care centers. 94% of working mothers relied on relatives and friends for child care.
1960: Nearly 40% of women with children between the ages of 6 and 17 were working outside the home. Nearly 20% of women with children under the age of 6 were working outside the home.
1963: The US Office of Education published “Management Problems of Homemakers Employed Outside the Home: Resources for Teaching,” a curriculum guide for teaching high school and adult women how to deal with household responsibilities while working outside the home.
1971: Congress passed the Comprehensive Child Development Act. Provided universal access to child care on a sliding scale ability to pay. President Nixon vetoed the bill out of fear that it would undermine strong families and be too similar to communist Soviet Union and China.