I come bearing good news - for once! There’s a new paid family leave bill in town (DC, that is), and I’m happy to say it’s good stuff. The states have been hard at work on this one, but in my mind paid family leave should be available to all parents, regardless of what state they live in. Moms Rising says we real-live mamas are a make-it-or-break-it force on this one, and I believe it. They also acknowledge that ‘it’s going to take some heavy lifting to get the co-sponsors and momentum this bill needs to pass.’
So step right up and e-mail your U.S. Senators and Representatives NOW and ask them to co-sponsor this bill. Ask them to represent us, their mamastituents, on this one. Voting for it when (if!) the time comes is one thing, but seeing co-sponsors from my state would make me feel truly represented in our nation’s capital. Wonder if your Representative has already co-sponsored it? If you live in AZ, CA (of course!), FL, GA, MA or NY, you’re good to go. Out here in Oregon, not so much.
What would the bill do? Some impressive stuff, mamas:
- Provide all workers with 12 weeks of paid leave over a 12-month period to care for a new child, provide for an ill family member, treat their own illness, or deal with an exigency caused by the deployment of a member of the military;
- Provide these benefits through a new trust fund that is financed equally by employers and employees, who will each contribute 0.2% of the employee’s pay;
- Progressively tier the benefits so that a low wage worker (earning less than $30,000) will receive full or near full salary replacement, middle income workers ($30,000- $60,000) receive 55% wage replacement, and higher earners (over $60,000) receive 40-45%, with the benefit capped at approximately $800 per week;
- Administer the program through the Department of Labor which will contract with states to administer the program (similar to how the Unemployment Insurance program is run);
- Allow states and businesses with materially equivalent or better benefits to opt-out of the program.
And, if you’re a diehard, don’t forget to RSS the bill’s progress so you know what’s happening and when to jump in. If that’s not your thing, no worries, we’ll keep you updated right here as things heat up. ‘Cause with your support, they will.
Hear what else Lisa has to say about our country’s dreadful public policies for families & her random efforts to improve them at Activistas.
