Introduction

“First of all, we have got to end the international embarrassment of being the only major country on earth that does not guarantee family and medical leave to all working people. You know what that means? That means in Iowa today and in Vermont today there is a woman who is giving birth, and if she doesn’t have adequate income she has to go back to work in three days, five days or eight days.”

Source of claim: U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a 2016 Democratic presidential candidate, at the opening of his Linn County campaign office Aug. 15.

Analysis

There are two parts to his claim that complicate an analysis.

First, he does not say specifically that he’s talking about “paid” leave. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act provides up to 12 weeks off work for those who qualify but does not require that it be paid. However, it’s clear that Sanders is not referring to the FMLA as it exists — he’s referring instead to a pay guarantee.

Second, his definition of “major country” is open to interpretation.

To analyze his claim, we used the list of nations represented in the G-20, a forum for governments from the 20 major and emerging major economies in the world.

All the countries in the G-20 — except the United States — offer some form of extended paid leave, although it might not be at full salary, according the International Labor Organization, a U.N. agency.

For instance, while Britain provides 39 weeks of paid leave, it’s at the rate of 30.9 percent of the salary on average. Germany, on the other hand, provides 14 weeks of paid time off at full salary, the agency found.

The United States has no such paid time off guarantee. A Sanders campaign representative, however, couldn’t provide a citation backing the candidate’s assertion that a low-income mother would have to return to work in “three days, five days or eight days.”

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Spokesman Warren Gunnels said the point Sanders was trying to make is that mothers who don’t have sufficient income or savings to take unpaid leave have no choice but to return to work in days or weeks.

Federal law requires companies with more than 50 employees to provide 12 weeks of unpaid leave annually to qualifying employees, including mothers, said Angela Onwuachi-Willig, a law professor at the University of Iowa specializing in family law. Employees must have been employed at the job for 12 months to qualify.

“It’s unpaid, and if you couldn’t afford to take it and couldn’t get disability through your employer, you would have to go back to work,” Onwuachi-Willig said.

Conclusion

Using the G-20 nations as a standard, Sanders correctly stated the United States is the only major country without a guarantee of paid medical and family leave. It should be noted, though, that not all these countries offer full salary during a leave.

His hypothetical statement easily could be true. A mother without adequate income or short-term disability insurance likely would find it hard to take several weeks of unpaid leave. We give Sanders’ claim a B.

The Fact Checker team checks statements made by an Iowa political candidate/office holder or a national candidate/office holder about Iowa, or in advertisements that appear in our market. Claims must be independently verifiable. We give statements grades from A to F based on accuracy and context.

If you spot a claim you think needs checking, email us at factchecker@sourcemedia.net.

• This Fact Checker was researched and written by Jessie Hellmann.