Led by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), Democrats in Congress have reintroduced a plan to establish a national program of paid family leave. Besides the opportunity for such leave to cover circumstances like the birth of a child, other medical needs would also let workers access the benefits, as would coping with sexual or domestic violence, which could easily require significant life changes — changes that would cost money and make it difficult to maintain regular employment.
The latest version of the proposal also expands the definition of family members whose needs can essentially activate the opportunity for those benefits. Individuals like registered partners in a civil union or domestic partnership and in-laws would be generally included. Some domestic partners had already been named in earlier proposals, but in-laws — no matter those instances in which a family might essentially blend, assembling a new unit from disparate original groups — are a new addition. Grandchildren were also newly added.
Many other countries in a position that is similar economically to the United States already have such benefit programs in place. In the Trump era, a proposal for paid family leave circulated with some Republican support, but the benefits made available to workers in circumstances where they were in need would have detracted from Social Security benefits they’d get later in life. GOP Sens. Marco Rubio (Fla.) and Mitt Romney (Utah) are among those who’ve gotten onboard with that stalled idea.
“Without universal paid leave, millions of Americans must choose between their livelihood and the health and well-being of themselves and their families. After ten years fighting for paid leave, we are still the only industrialized nation without this essential program,” Gillibrand recently stated. “I am proud to join my partner, Representative DeLauro, to introduce an improved version of the FAMILY Act with marked changes that will help serve all workers and all loved ones for major life events. Now is the time to deliver on paid leave for the future of our families, our middle class, and our country.”
