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Lets just take "parental leave" as an example. When the Democrats first proposed then demanded it, it was unpaid and I think the limit was two weeks. I remember the Republicans fighting it because it was just "the camel's nose under the tent". The Democrats laughed and scoffed and called the Republicans "anti-family".

Today it's leave that has to be paid for by the employer and now includes, not just mothers caring for their newborns, but fathers, children caring for their elderly parents, parents attending school teacher conferences and the last I heard the Democrats were trying for owners with sick pets. And the time has gone to six weeks.

Having just taken advantage of this....

Family Leave is for up to 12 weeks. It does NOT require the employer to compensate the employee. It can be taken for a number of things...I took 4 weeks "paternity leave" when WBill Jr. was born.

Basically, the Family Leave Act guaranteed that I'd have a job when I came back. That's it. It also gave me a legal leg to stand on with my company when I told them I'd be taking the time off. In my particular case, I did get paid for the time off by working through the issue with my company...using up vacation time, sick leave, holiday pay, and such.

Am I 100% in favor of a European-style system....where the employer pays you to be out for extended (6 month? 12 month? not sure...) periods? Heck no. But the US's model should not be confused with France's.