With paid leave, older adults are spending less time looking after their grandchildren and more time looking after their parents.
In 2004, California passed a law requiring employers above a certain size to provide paid family leave to their employees.
Much of the research looking at this policy has examined its effect on the work, income, and leave-taking of new parents and women of childbearing age—but less research has focused on how paid leave may affect older adults.
“The law could affect older adults directly by enabling them to take paid leave to take care of sick relatives when they wouldn’t have before. But it could also affect older adults indirectly if it enables new parents to take paid leave,” says University of Michigan economist Joelle Abramowitz….