In the United States, the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) covers maternity and parental leave.  The FMLA covers public agencies (i.e State and Federal employers), local education agencies, and private sector employers who have 50 or more employees for at least 20 workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year.  Only employees who work for the preceding employers for at least 12 months for at least 1,250 hours in that period are eligible.

Unlike most of the developed world, the United States does not mandate paid medical leave.  The FMLA states that employers must give covered employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in a 12-month period for the birth of a child or to care for a newborn child.  The employee must complete the leave within 12 months of the birth of the child.  In most cases, both parents can take leave.

In most cases, you only need to provide unpaid maternity leave if you are an employer subject to the FMLA.  However, this may change, especially if you stated that you would provide paid leave.  Therefore, always talk to your attorney to ensure that you do not need to provide paid leave.