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The unpaid family leave in the US: the benefits of offering more (?) 

Review by Véronique Senécal-Lirette 
 

Zero Weeks  

Director: Ky Dickens  

Video Project, 2017 

 

Key words: Paid Leave; Maternity Leave; Paternity Leave; Workers Rights; Family 

Planning 

 

Ky Dickens is the director and the producer of the documentary Zero Weeks which aims 

to inform and raise awareness about paid family leave in the United States. Zero Weeks 

presents speeches by activists, economists, policymakers, researchers, a doctor, small and 

large business owners, in addition to personal stories of people who have been personally 

affected by the topic. 

 

In the United States, parents and families are protected under a federal law: the Family 

and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Under this law, employees are protected with up to 

twelve weeks of unpaid family leave for some medical and family reasons1. However, 

these twelve weeks are far from guaranteed and are subject to some conditions: the 

company must have at least 50 employees, and the employee needs to have been working 

more than 25 hours a week for over a year. It should be noted that, according to the 

documentary, the United States is the only country in the world with Papua New Guinea 

                                                
1 
 � For more information about the FMLA: https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/benefits-leave/fmla 

(consulted on November 4th, 2019) 
 



that do not offer a paid leave law, and the only one among developed countries not 

offering it. Zero Weeks shed light on this delay of the United States compared to the rest 

of the world. The states of California, New Jersey, and Rhode Island addressed this issue 

on their own in 2017, and have passed paid leave laws showing that the costs amount to 

less than a cup of coffee per week for each person within the state. 

 

Dickens herself has experienced the shortcomings of the law. Like most Americans, she 

naturally felt entitled to have twelve weeks leave after giving birth; however, since her 

place of employment had less than 50 employees, she was not. Even if she had been 

employed more than ten years, her employer could have demanded she return to work 

within days after giving birth. She says that a lot of mothers has to, and the situation is 

similar for fathers or same-gender partners. Dickens had to return to work after only six 

weeks –needless to say, she was not ready at all. Her wife, meanwhile, had to return to 

work two days after the birth of their child. Dickens was shocked by their experience, did 

some research and realized that many other people had been in a similar situation and that 

she and her spouse had actually been among the lucky ones. It is hard to imagine that one 

out of four US women returns to work within two weeks after giving birth; in fact, only 

15% of American employees have access to paid leave, and only 5% of low wage 

workers. 

 

Most people live from paycheck to paycheck. Some believe they are part of the middle-

class, while they are one incident away from going bankrupt. Nearly half of Americans 

say they could not find $2000 even by asking for support from relatives, and one third 

have no savings at all. Taking these facts into account, even if the employee succeeds in 

obtaining a leave, he/she will not be paid. So what will he/she do to continue paying rent, 

bills, school fees? The reality is that thousands of Americans cannot afford to go without 

a salary. The documentary is very clear: the reality is that, in the United States, people 

don’t think about paid family leave until they need it. Then reality strikes. The truth is, 

one day or another almost everyone will need to take care either of a newborn, a sick 

relative, an elderly parent, or of themselves after an accident or an illness. 

 



The documentary exposes personal stories of several people affected by this reality. 

There is a father that had leukemia and was fired along with his wife, who worked at the 

same place, to make sure she would not take days off. There is a woman diagnosed with 

stage four breast cancer while being a mother of a two-year-old kid. Her doctor suggests 

she go on disability leave for the duration of her treatment – but she cannot afford it 

financially. Another woman works five days a week while visiting and taking care of her 

ill mother every morning. Yet another woman lost her twins, and her husband only had 

six days off from work to be with her to mourn and prepare the funerals. Then, this 

couple had another baby and the father had to return home responding to e-mails only 6 

hours after childbirth. A 20-year-old mother had four weeks leave but had to return to 

work due to lack of money. Another woman gave birth after 27 weeks of pregnancy and 

only had four weeks of unpaid leave to recover from her c-section before going back to 

work, while her very premature son was fighting for his life in intensive care. Her 

husband did not have any days off. The people presented come from different 

socioeconomic backgrounds and are from different ethnic groups. 

 
In Zero Weeks we learn that even though most people (even among politicians) agree that 

family leave is necessary, no one moves because no one knows who will pay for it. The 

argument that it will hurt the economy comes back a lot. However, states that apply such 

policies of paid family leave see benefits for both citizens and businesses. The myth that 

it will hurt small businesses, that people will take advantage (abuse) is tenacious but 

many employers have gone ahead and are telling the benefits. Yes, it has costs, but they 

integrate them into the structure of their business. The documentary presents a few  

strategies to be able to give families paid leave and the benefits that companies  noticed 

doing so – like a more positive business climate and keeping their employees. Employees 

mentioned that this meant a lot and pointed out that they probably would have resigned 

without this policy. The documentary indeed shows some people who decided to leave 

their jobs because of the little family leave time they had. Their productivity, their loyalty 

and their desire to continue with the company were no longer there. It shows that while it 

costs something for the company to voluntarily provide paid family leave, it is evident 

that doing nothing also comes at a serious cost (just think about the cost of replacing an 



employee, among others). The documentary points out that paid family leave could be 

funded through a small payroll deduction from employees, and work like an insurance 

program. It clearly details the benefits of having an FMLA. For example: fewer infant 

deaths, more women in the workforce, less absenteeism, less postpartum depression, 

longer breastfeeding periods for mothers (leading to a better bond of attachment), and 

parents that will be able to go to their child’s appointments, etc. 

 

Zero Weeks also presents the situation of fathers, the prejudices that persist when they 

want to benefit from paternity leave, and how little they get. The documentary also 

addresses the reasons why women often remain at the bottom of the ladder in the 

organization of a business. This production is full of shocking and dramatic statistics that 

make aberrant and incomprehensible that the USA could have a delay of this kind in its 

legislation compared to the rest of the world. Some Americans were invited to the 

documentary to talk about the usual arguments provided by those who are against the 

paid family leave, but it would have been fairer to also present interviews with those who 

are really opposed to it, in order to present a more balanced view, a counterpoint, and 

more accurately discuss this complex situation. To say that the United States is the only 

country in the world with Papua New Guinea not to offer paid family leave is one thing, 

but it must be put into perspective. In most developing or undeveloped countries people 

are not employed by public, private or governmental enterprises. So even though their 

country offers this policy, it only applies to a small minority of people since most of them 

work in the informal work market. The majority must be resourceful just to get by (for 

example selling fruits and vegetables, hand-made clothes).  

 

The documentary shows the social, economic, medical, marital and global advantages of 

paid family leave in the United States and provides many facts, statistics, maps and 

graphics that make it easier to understand the situation. Zero Weeks is relevant and 

essential to anyone interested in sociopolitical issues of this kind, and I recommend to 

watch this tumbling documentary which is a solid base to understand the dynamics 

couples have to face when deciding to have a baby in the United States today. Zero 

Weeks offers a good first contact with this financial situation for those inclined to 



understand, and possibly, act to change the current legislative and political situation 

surrounding paid family leave in the US. 

 

Véronique Senécal-Lirette has a master's degree in social work from the Université du 
Québec en Outaouais, with her primary field research taking place in Senegal. She has 
worked as a counselor for people who have experienced violence, addiction and mental 
health issues. Her research interests include women's rights, mental health, traditions and 
the arts. 
 

 

 
 

© 2019 Véronique Senécal-Lirette 

 


