Center for Economic and Policy Research gives U.S. parenting policies a "Gentleman's C"

Over the Labor Day weekend, the Council on Contemporary Families announced a new Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) report that ranks the family-friendly workplace policies of 21 wealthy countries. Due to the limited amount of time U.S. parents can take off when junior arrives and the fact that parental leave is unpaid for a majority of workers, the CEPR gave the U.S. a gentleman's C.

The Family and Medical Leave Act only applies to workers at companies with 50 employees or more. As a result, says the Council on Contemporary Families, "40 percent of American workers have no guaranteed family leave at all, while the 60 percent who are entitled to leave are not guaranteed any of the subsidies or compensation for lost wages provided by most other high-income countries."

Also, according to a Department of Labor survey conducted during 1999 and 2000, almost 80 percent of U.S. workers who needed family leave said they did not take it because they couldn't afford to.

So how does the U.S. compare to those 20 other wealthy countries?

"In terms of total guaranteed time off from work, the U.S. ranks 20th out of 21 high-income countries -- just ahead of Switzerland, which offers only 14 weeks of protected leave. But in Switzerland, such leaves are paid at a rate of 80 percent of a mothers' income," says the Council on Contemporary Families.

And:

"France and Spain are at the top of the list, and allow 300 weeks per couple. They allow both parents to stay at home -- and return to their prior job or a comparable one -- until their child's third birthday."

But what about small businesses? you ask. They can't possible afford to pay for any more employee perks than they already do.

"Done properly, parental leave policies aren't a drag on the economy. For example, of the 19 rich countries with paid parental leave, nine have an unemployment rate as low or lower than the United States," said CEPR senior economist and study co-author John Schmitt in a press release on the report. (In case you were wondering, those nine countries are Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.)

The press release also suggests that "collective financing" would enable the "risk to be shared across all employers, greatly reducing the burden for individual employers."

What do you think? Any small businesses out there who do offer some family leave subsidies? And if not, what nationwide policy changes would have to happen in order for you to offer such paid time off? And what about those of us who don't plan to have kids? (Ahem.) Are we getting the short end of the stick with regard to family leave, or do you think family leave policies support parents and childfree folks equally? After all, none of us can predict when we might have to care for an ailing parent or loved one, right?

Freelance writer Michelle Goodman is the author of "My So-Called Freelance Life" and "The Anti 9-to-5 Guide." E-mail her at ninetothrive@nwjobs.com.