PUBLIC APPROVES PARENTAL LEAVE

Some 81 percent of Americans think that employers should be required to provide an unpaid leave of absence to employees for the birth or adoption of a child or the illness of a family member. That's what a nationwide survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute and the Gallup Organization has found.

Further, a large majority (73 percent) said that employers could do ``a lot more'' through their benefit programs to help their employees be both good workers and good parents.