美国国家公共电台 NPR How California's 'Paid Family Leave' Law Buys Time For New Parents

How California's 'Paid Family Leave' Law Buys Time For New Parents 

play pause stop mute unmute max volume 00:0005:11repeat repeat off Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser¹ to a recent version or update your Flash plugin. KELLY MCEVERS, HOST: 

Both Donald Trump² and Hillary Clinton have proposed national paid-leave programs for working parents, and California is a case study in how that could work. In 2002, California became the first state to pass a paid family leave law. New moms and dads here get six weeks leave at about half their pay after the birth of a baby. It's paid for by California workers who have a small deduction³ - about 1 percent - taken out of their weekly checks. As part of our series Stretched, NPR's Patti Neighmond has this story on how it's working out.

PATTI NEIGHMOND, BYLINE⁴: Iris⁵ and Eli Fugate say the paid leave gave them precious time with their new son, Jack⁶.

IRIS FUGATE: We both had time to get to know him together. I think that was really, really meaningful. I don't know. I can't imagine having gone any other way.

ELI FUGATE: It was amazing. It was really important and especially after being home during that first week or two, especially.

NEIGHMOND: Iris took the full six weeks of leave after Jack was born. Eli took three weeks and plans to spread the rest out over the next few months. Today Jack's 5 months old.

(BABY VOCALIZING)

I FUGATE: (Laughter).

E FUGATE: Hey, are you OK?

I FUGATE: You have a lot to say, don't you?

NEIGHMOND: Jack's sort of experimenting with his new-found vocal⁷ range, trying to see how loud or how low he can go. And both parents clearly relish⁸ all those special moments they share during the first weeks of Jack's life.

E FUGATE: In a bunch of the classes we took, they talk about tummy time and sort of how it's - it exercises their legs and arm muscles. And so I just did a lot of tummy time with him through the first two weeks. And one day, he just...

I FUGATE: Decided⁹ he wanted to do it.

E FUGATE: ...Turned over.

(LAUGHTER)

NEIGHMOND: Businesses initially¹⁰ opposed the law, but a few years in, 90 percent of employers surveyed reported a neutral or even positive impact.

Another welcome change, there's been a steady increase in the number of new dads like Eli taking paternity leave. And, since the law began, the length of time new mothers like Iris breastfeed has doubled.

I FUGATE: There's such a wonderful bonding that happens with breastfeeding that if I'd had to stop that so early and just be pumping - I mean, it makes me sad just to think about, you know, losing out on that experience.

NEIGHMOND: But here's the concern, the leave law doesn't provide a full paycheck. It pays 55 percent of an employee's salary. For the Fugates, Eli's a manager for a grocery chain and Iris is a lawyer, it was financially difficult but manageable. That's not the case for everyone.

LEO: Da-da (ph).

LASHA GABRICHI: Da-da (ph).

LEO: Da-da-da (ph).

NEIGHMOND: Leo just celebrated¹¹ his first birthday. He's very busy trying to walk, climb, play with toys and his cat. Mom Kitty Jensen says he's kind of a bruiser.

KITTY JENSEN: He knocked half his front tooth out. He has scrapped¹² knees. It's because he's totally fearless and he just, like, goes. But he doesn't really get too upset if he gets hurt. He just keeps going.

NEIGHMOND: Jensen and her husband, Lasha, live in North Hollywood. She works as a personal assistant to a clothing designer. When Leo was born, her husband was out of work, which meant the new family was living on half of one moderate salary.

JENSEN: The amount of money - it's like, you got to be kidding me - half a week's pay? If you're not in the upper-middle class, I don't know how people survive on it. We certainly didn't.

NEIGHMOND: There was rent, utilities, telephone, food, health insurance, car insurance, and all the costs of having a baby from medical bills to diapers. Kitty turned to her parents.

JENSEN: They're not well-off. They're not, you know, wealthy, but they helped as much as they could. And I sold things...

NEIGHMOND: Lots of things on Craigslist.

JENSEN: ...Furniture. I sold art, you know, vintage art pieces and chairs. And I just sold anything I possibly could all year.

NEIGHMOND: Despite the extreme financial strain, Jensen says she's grateful for the time she had. But many workers who are eligible¹³ for family leave don't take it because they have no financial cushion at all.

Sociologist¹⁴ Ruth Milkman surveyed Californians five years after the launch of the law. One-third of those who knew about it said they couldn't afford to take it. And more than half didn't even know the law existed.

RUTH MILKMAN: And the people who need it most - immigrants, young workers, poor people, low-wage workers - are the least likely to know about it.

NEIGHMOND: Service industry workers are typical of those not in the know. Claudia Chi-Ku worked as a cashier at a large carwash chain when she got pregnant.

CLAUDIA CHI-KU: At that time, to be honest, I had no idea - none.

NEIGHMOND: She says the paid family leave even at half her salary would've been a godsend.

CHI-KU: I would've used that money that I really needed at that time - especially at that time. I think it was sad for me.

NEIGHMOND: Today, Chi-Ku works with advocacy groups to help other low-wage workers understand their rights under the leave law. And changes are on the way. In 2018, the amount of money new moms and dads get will increase to 70 percent for low-wage workers like Chi-ku. Patti Neighmond, NPR News.

1 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 deduction   

n.减除，扣除，减除额；推论，推理，演绎

参考例句：

• No deduction in pay is made for absence due to illness.因病请假不扣工资。
• His deduction led him to the correct conclusion.他的推断使他得出正确的结论。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 iris   

n.虹膜，彩虹

参考例句：

• The opening of the iris is called the pupil.虹膜的开口处叫做瞳孔。
• This incredible human eye,complete with retina and iris,can be found in the Maldives.又是在马尔代夫，有这样一只难以置信的眼睛，连视网膜和虹膜都刻画齐全了。

6 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

7 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

8 relish   

n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味

参考例句：

• I have no relish for pop music.我对流行音乐不感兴趣。
• I relish the challenge of doing jobs that others turn down.我喜欢挑战别人拒绝做的工作。

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

11 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

12 scrapped   

废弃(scrap的过去式与过去分词)； 打架

参考例句：

• This machine is so old that it will soon have to be scrapped. 这架机器太旧，快报废了。
• It had been thought that passport controls would be scrapped. 人们曾认为会放开护照管制。

13 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

14 sociologist   

n.研究社会学的人，社会学家

参考例句：

• His mother was a sociologist,researching socialism.他的母亲是个社会学家，研究社会主义。
• Max Weber is a great and outstanding sociologist.马克斯·韦伯是一位伟大的、杰出的社会学家。