Mother's Day or not, Illinois doesn't treat its state and private-sector employees equally when it comes family leave. Private-sector workers don鈥檛 get any extra benefits beyond the federal law for moms working for private employers. State workers fare better: four weeks of parental leave, which can be used by either parent; greater access to family leave; and a broader definition of 鈥渇amily鈥� than the federal one. (If living together, two parents don鈥檛 necessarily have to be married for their household to qualify as a 鈥渇amily.鈥�) Both state and private-sector mothers are entitled to nursing rights 鈥� a reasonable break and a place to nurse other than a bathroom stall.
A note on methodology: The National Partnership for Women and Families study assigns states letter grades based on what benefits the state offers new parents in addition to what is mandated by the federal government. One example: The federally mandated Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which allows new parents to take a 12-week unpaid leave of absence when a new child is born, only applies to employees who work at firms of 50 or more employees, so a state with an FMLA that applies to smaller firms as well would earn a higher score.
The seventeen states with an 鈥淔,鈥� according to the study, offer nothing beyond the protections required by the federal government. A state with a 鈥淒鈥� might offer one additional benefit, a 鈥淐鈥� a few more, and so on. The states on this list all scored a 鈥淏-鈥� or higher. The highest grade: an "A-."
