Unpaid family leave is an issue for staff members unsatisfied with the way the United States handles such a crucial issue differently from the rest of the world.

According to Pew Research Center the United States is ranked last in the world for paid parental leave due to the fact that it is the only developed nation that offers absolutely no federally mandated paid maternity or paternity leave.

It is estimated by the central office an average of three to four teachers go on family leave each year.

Current United States maternity leave policy is directed by the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, which includes a provision that mandates the opportunity of 12 weeks of unpaid leave annually for any employee.

“We are all covered under the Family Medical Leave Act,” Algonquin Regional Teachers Association President and social studies teacher Gina Johnston said. “Then we get a certain amount of paid sick days per year depending on how long we’ve been at the school. Then after that the days are unpaid.”

Because of this, people are apt to take less time off from work than they wish they could.

“I remember feeling a specific pressure when my son was born to be back at school at nine weeks because I couldn’t afford to stay out of work any longer,” English teacher and mother of three Monica Grehoski said. “Certainly I would’ve liked to, but unfortunately I just couldn’t.”

Not only are women taking less time for maternity leave, but paternity leave is less common in the U.S. than in other countries.

In a Boston College study called “The New Dad” conducted annually from 2010 to today, roughly 30 percent of men who had the option to take four to six weeks leave only took two. When asked why they decided when to return to work, 40 percent of men said it was pressures at work, deadlines and current projects that spurred them to return earlier than required.

Fred Van Deusen, the senior research associate with the Boston College Center for Work and Family working on “The New Dad” study states the importance of fathers taking time off from work.

“If fathers have paternity leave, they can be there to help not only with the children, but also help the spouse while she’s recovering from whatever difficulties she might have had after birth. And those fathers can establish themselves as active caregivers,” Van Deusen said.

Social studies teacher Justin McKay is planning to take paternity leave in January for the birth of his first child.

“Paternity leave is really important for the mother and the child to make sure that all the support can be there,” McKay said. “Paternity leave is super important to do all of the stuff necessary to make sure that the most important people in your life, which is your spouse and your child, are off to a really good start.”

In a 2000 study conducted by the Radcliffe Public Policy Center, 96 percent of men and women surveyed agreed that fathers and mothers should share equally in the care taking of children.

Because of the fact that family leave in general is unpaid, paternity leave occurs less often and for shorter durations of time.

The few paternity leaves taken in the United States are about 10 days or less, according to a US Department of Labor study.

However, according to an article in The Economist published this year called “A Father’s Place,” in Chile, Portugal, and Italy paternity leave is not optional; men must take time off when their babies are born. In Iceland and Slovenia dads get 90 days of paid paternity leave. While in America, although workers are protected from being fired, there are zero days of paid family leave given.

“[Childbirth is] a life altering event, and people just want life to continue as fast as it possibly can go, but when you have a child, everything stops,” McKay said. “Your family becomes more important than anything. So having a period of time in there where people can really catch their breath and not have that pressure to feel like they have to work, I think is really important.”