Americans broadly back paid leave for childbirth and serious illness
Core finding
In a Verasight survey conducted March 6-16, 2026, large majorities of Americans endorse nearly every reason a federal paid-leave law might allow. Physical recovery from childbirth draws the widest support (83%), closely followed by recovery from one's own serious health condition (81%) and caring for a seriously ill family member (75%).
The other reasons draw nearly as much backing: 68% support leave to attend to a military family member's deployment or injury, 64% to bond with a new child, and 61% to handle a family experience of domestic or sexual violence. Just 7% support none of these reasons.
Selected responses
Americans broadly back paid leave for childbirth and serious illness.
If the United States were to pass federal paid family leave legislation, for what reasons should a worker be able to take leave?
n = 1,000 · Mar 6–16, 2026 · MoE ±3.5%
Methodology
Full methodology →| Mode | Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting |
|---|---|
| Population | US adults age 18+ |
| Field dates | Mar 6–16, 2026 |
| Base (unweighted) | 1,000 |
| Margin of error | ±3.5% |
| Module | Module 2: Economics, Work, & Policy |
| Sponsor | Verasight |
| Weight variable | weight |
| Weighting targets | age, race/ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, metropolitan status |
Sources
- reports.verasight.io/r/omnibus-2026-044
If the United States were to pass federal paid family leave legislation, for what reasons should a worker be able to take leave?
Cite this question
Verasight Client Omnibus Survey #2026-044, fielded March 6-16, 2026, N=1,000 US adults age 18+, +/- 3.5%.