I think we might disagree on the Role of Federal Government. Passing more federal laws imposing more government mandates on employers is wrong and might have unintended consequences. Many companies voluntarily provide the kind of benefits about which you are talking.
Federal Requirements that provide generous Family Benefits are a disincentive to hiring people who are likely to use those benefits or an incentive to make them contract labor instead of employees. They are also a disincentive to business growth to over 50 employees, the suggested threshold for the application of these requirements.
The reason the U.S. is on the bottom of the list is a conscious hands off policy regarding unnecessary Federal Regulation and a preference for letting the Market control benefits vs. a Socialist Government dictating a labor philosophy. One way to work to get these kind of benefits would be “organized labor” you could join or start a union.
Being less available for work is going to be detrimental to most careers. Personally, caring for my now deceased wife while she was sick probably cost me career growth opportunities even though I missed vary little work or travel. I was not able to work very much overtime and sometimes declined to travel and had to have someone fill in for my on an off-site job when I had to fly home when my wife had an emergency hospitalization. I was never been denied needed time off but taking time off, even extended vacations makes you unavailable for work and that makes you less attractive to management.
They call it a career path, if you step off the path or stop to catch your breath someone is going to pass you up. A law the makes them pay you when you are off the path and requires them to let you back on the path is not really going to do you a lot of good. What about the parents who get paid child care leave and when the paid benefit runs out they quit to stay home with the kid.
Why do so many people look to the Federal Government to address their grievances. Check the Constitution, that is not the role of our Government.
TEK
