The Effect of Paid Family Leave on Maternal Employment Trajectories: Evidence from Washington State
Parents, particularly mothers, often experience unstable employment around the time a child is born, leading to unpredictability in earnings. As a result, households frequently face reduced income around the birth of child, precisely when they need an increase in resources in order to meet the new child’s needs. Paid family leave has emerged as promising policy to reduce employment instability among working parents. Public policy expert Elizabeth Pelletier will examine the effects of Washington State’s Paid Family and Medical Leave policy on employment outcomes for mothers of children who were born around the time of the policy’s implementation. She will draw on data from the Washington State All Payer Claims Database and employment records from the Washington Employment Security Department for her study.