VOA常速英语2016--美国滞后的带薪产假在一些州取得进展

While US Lags on Paid Maternity¹ Leave, Some States Make Progress 美国滞后的带薪产假在一些州取得进展

While the United States is the only developed country in the world that does not offer paid maternity leave for new mothers, both of the current Democratic presidential candidates support a national standard of 12 weeks of paid family leave. 

It’s not a new proposal, though. President Barack Obama called for it in his 2015 State of the Union address, but it drew quick opposition² from some Republicans in Congress

It's not unusual in the United States for a new mother to quit her job after giving birth to a child.  Sam is only 9 months old, and his mother, Lora, dreaded³ the thought of going back to work.

在美国，母亲分娩后辞职的现象非常普遍。萨姆只有9个月大， 他的母亲劳拉非常害怕重返工作岗位。

"I got only six weeks with him, and it is just not enough time. We needed someone to take care of him, but the cost of day care in D.C. is high. I would not be bringing home enough money to cover day-care bills," she said.

“我只能照顾他六周的时间，根本就不够。我们需要有人照顾他，但是首都的日托费用非常高。我赚不到足够的钱来支付日托的费用。”

While the U.S. is nowhere close to a federal law that mandates⁴ paid maternity leave, some states are addressing the issue. A new law in New York assures new mothers 12 weeks of paid maternity leave. New Jersey⁵ covers 67 percent of six weeks of leave. California covers 55 percent of six weeks.  Rhode Island covers four weeks.

美国距离出台带薪产假的联邦法律还很遥远，不过一些州正在解决这一问题。纽约一部新的法律保障新生儿母亲有12周的带薪产假。新泽西州支付六周产假薪资的67%，加利福尼亚支付六周产假薪资的55%。罗得岛提供四周的带薪产假。

"If you live in those four states, you would be covered and eligible⁶ to have paid leave, but if you live in the rest of the USA, it really just depends on whether or not your employer voluntarily offers those benefits, since we do not have any national programs to provide wage replacement," said Sarah Jane Glynn from the Center for American Progress.

“如果你住在这四个州，你将享受带薪产假，但是如果你住在美国其他地方，这就取决于你的雇主是否自愿提供这些福利了，因为没有任何国家计划来提供薪资替代。”美国进步中心的Sarah Jane Glynn表示。

US law 'has not caught up'

美国法律落后

Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders favor a national program that would allow new mothers to take 12 weeks of paid maternity leave. This is an improvement over the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act — which provides job-protected unpaid⁷ leave to government employees or those in private sector⁸ companies with 50 or more employees. But critics say that law covers only 60 percent of new mothers because only 60 percent of workers even qualify — and many new moms cannot afford to take time off.

民主党总统候选人希拉里·克林顿和伯尼·桑德斯支持一项国家项目，允许新生儿母亲享受12周的带薪产假。这是对1993年颁布的《家庭医疗休假法》做出的改进——为政府雇员或员工人数超过50人的私营公司雇员提供保护工作的无薪假期。但是批评家表示，该法律只保障了60%的新生儿母亲的权益，因为只有60%的工作人员有这个资格——许多新生母亲根本负担不起休假的成本。

"The U.S. has not caught up with the fact that most women today work. Our labor⁹ laws ... the majority were set a long time ago when families looked very different. Today the majority of women work, the majority of mothers work, even the majority of moms who have very young children are in the paid labor force," said Glynn.

“美国没有根据今天大部分母亲进入职场的形势与时俱进。我们的劳工法，大部分条款都是很久以前颁布的，那时的家庭与现在非常不同。今天，大部分女性工作，大部分母亲工作，甚至大部分孩子还非常幼小的母亲也必须工作来赚钱。”

Still, some companies do provide not only paid maternity leave but paid paternity leave as well.

然而，一些公司不仅提供带薪产假，甚至提供带薪陪产假。

New dad Joe is thrilled to have six weeks of paid leave.  

新爸爸乔很高兴能有六周的带薪陪产假。

"I think it is up to employers to pay or not, but the best employers are doing it now. It is good for the employee, which means it is good for the company," he said.

“我认为是否提供薪资取决于雇主，但是最好的雇主却这样做了。这对雇员有益，也就意味着对公司有益。”

Opponents of a paid family leave law say it’s bad for business because it’s too costly¹⁰.

带薪家庭休假法的反对者表示，这对企业不利，因为成本太高了。

"Small businesses cannot afford to have that burden on them. Also, the small businesses cannot afford increases in taxes," said one.

“小企业难以承担这样的负担。小企业也难以承担税负的增加。”

But supporters of the idea say the cost of paid maternity leave is very low relative to the benefit to the family.

但是支持者表示，相对于给家庭带来的好处，带薪产假的成本是非常低的。

1 maternity   

n.母性，母道，妇产科病房；adj.孕妇的，母性的

参考例句：

• Women workers are entitled to maternity leave with full pay.女工产假期间工资照发。
• Trainee nurses have to work for some weeks in maternity.受训的护士必须在产科病房工作数周。

2 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

3 dreaded   

adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The dreaded moment had finally arrived. 可怕的时刻终于来到了。
• He dreaded having to spend Christmas in hospital. 他害怕非得在医院过圣诞节不可。 来自《用法词典》

4 mandates   

托管（mandate的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• Individual mandates would require all people to purchase health insurance. 个人托管要求所有人都要购买健康保险。
• While I agree with those benefits, I'm not a supporter of mandates. 我同意上述好处，我不是授权软件的支持者。

5 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

6 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

7 unpaid   

adj.未付款的，无报酬的

参考例句：

• Doctors work excessive unpaid overtime.医生过度加班却无报酬。
• He's doing a month's unpaid work experience with an engineering firm.他正在一家工程公司无偿工作一个月以获得工作经验。

8 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

9 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

10 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。