SEATTLE: When Elvira Lopez's son Javier was born in March 2016, the Amazon.com warehouse employee took advantage of a perk that few US hourly workers enjoy: She took 20 weeks of paid maternity leave, and after that, a six-week gradual ramp-up back to work.
"I was able to go to appointments. You know how hard that can be," said the 28-year old Lopez, who lives in Phoenix, Arizona. The time off also gave her the opportunity to spend time with her older daughter, 11, during the summer and to visit California, where she's from. "We went to Disneyland. Twice."