John Oliver called out U.S. lawmakers for not supporting policies that allow paid maternity leave to new moms on his show Last Week Tonight.
Pointing out the U.S. and Papua New Guinea are the only countries in the world who don’t offer paid time off to new moms, he called America hypocritical for claiming moms are treated fairly.
Mothers get 12 weeks of unpaid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act, Vox reports, but that's it.
“Here in the U.S., federal law grants workers just 12 weeks of unpaid leave, and there are some stark limits on that,” he said, pointing out about 40 percent of mothers don’t qualify.
Daily Beast reports Oliver also pointed out new moms often bank up sick days in order to get some paid time off after giving birth.
"This is not how it's supposed to work," he said. "Mothers shouldn't have to stitch together time to recover from childbirth the same way we plan four-day weekends in Atlantic City."
Oliver continued on about U.S. lawmakers’ hypocrisy, showing a video of politicians in Minnesota celebrating their mothers on Mother’s Day.
“You can’t go on and on about how much you support mothers and then fail to support legislation that makes life easier for them,” said Oliver.
Watch his thoughts below:
image via INFphoto.com