The state, courts, and maternity policies in US organizations: Specifying institutional mechanisms

We analyze the dynamic interaction of state institutions and organizational policies through an analysis of leave benefits in U.S. organizations. Foll owing the Pregnancy Leave Act of 1978 and the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, organizations have been required by law to allow workers to take t ime off from work for childbearing and childrearing. Yet organizations vary on whether they offer full-time employees benefits that actually facilitat e leave for family responsibilities. We analyze the determinants of the org anizational decision to offer paid maternity leave to full-time employees. We compare these findings to the determinants of the organizational decisio n to offer paid sick leave to full-time employees. Our analysis suggests th at organizations have taken an activist approach to their institutional env ironments: In the face of federal definitions of the law that mandated gend er-neutral policies in the workplace and linked pregnancy to disability, th ose organizations that most often deal with maternity issues (e.g., those l ocated in female-dominated industries) have institutionalized sick leave po licies (often instead of maternity leave) to accommodate pregnant employees . The analysis examines specific aspects of the institutional environment a t the state and federal levels to illuminate these trends.