Should Women Get Paid Maternity Leave

Improved Essays
Should Women Be Paid Maternity Leave
In the State of Alabama it is not required for an employer to pay a woman maternity leave. In my opinion, women should be paid from their employer for a minimum of six weeks for maternity leave. After all, women carry a baby for nine months and work through the pregnancy as much as they can. The least an employer could do is give them pay for a period of time off to spend with their new born child. I agree with a lot of the laws the State of Alabama has, but this is one law that I do not agree with. I believe every woman has the right to a paid maternity leave.
Basically, there are no laws in Alabama guaranteeing job protection or benefits for new parents. Pregnant women and new parents are, however, protected by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and also by
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For me, after I had my daughter I was under constant stress the entire leave about how I was still going to manage to pay my bills, keep food on the table, and diapers for my baby. I stressed constantly about money before I even took off of work because I knew I wasn’t going to have income coming in for at least six weeks, possibly longer. My employer stated I could take longer than six weeks if needed, but there was no guarantee I would still have my job when I decided to return. I didn’t get paid for six weeks so I knew I couldn’t afford any more time off as much as I would have loved to take it.
When a baby is born, bills do not stop. This world is revolved around money, and just because a woman has a baby does not mean she should be punished by not being able to receive pay for maternity leave. To me, women deserve the right to a paid maternity leave. It is unfair and absurd that the State of Alabama is not required to offer a period of time off with pay. Women should have the same equal rights as everyone does when it comes to paid time off.
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